Back to School !!!
Appu started first grade a week ago. Back to school is always exciting for us. The kids look forward to seeing their friends and I look forward to the shopping and to sending them off to school after two grueling months of herding the rowdy pack!
As exciting as it may be, this time of year does come with some unwanted surprises no matter how hard you try to avoid them. After the first couple of days of perfectly planned and orchestrated bus logistics I thought we were settling in to a comfortable routine. But then, one day at the end of the first week, Appu forgot to get down at his home stop. Big sister was unaware that her brother didn't step out of the bus until it was too late.
So she came back home a little panicked and told me that it looks like Appu didn't get down from the bus.
"Not again!" I thought to myself. Devu went around our neighborhood to check if he was hanging out with his friend Aiden. But when she returned alone I called BSD transportation to check if Appu is still in the bus, because apparently she did see him get on the bus. If he was still in the bus, then he may have slept off and missed the stop. The lady on the other end of the line promised to look in to it and put me on hold while she was checking. While I was waiting anxiously for a reply from her, keeping an eye out at the balcony, much to Devu's and my delight, we saw Appu walking towards us! He seemed fine, only a little tired. Upon asking him for an explanation he said he was chatting with his friend and missed the home stop and so he got down at the next stop. I was relieved to see him and gave him a big hug. I tried to keep a calm tone when I asked him to explain what happened. He told me that although he was scared at first to be at the new stop, he knew the way back home very well.
It was terrifying to imagine him walking all by himself on the footpath next to one of the busiest streets with vehicles whizzing by. And at one point he had to cross the road!!! My God! I shudder to think of what could have happened if he made a mistake or if he had not known what to do to cross the road. But we have walked that street many a time and he knew very well what was to be done. It may be just a block or two of walking but its certainly not advisable for a 1st grader to be walking there all by himself.
They say all's well that ends well, nevertheless this stirred up the memories of last year when something similar happened to us -
"Last year Appu start kindergarten. It was such an exciting time or us as a family. Our little baby was finally stepping in to the world of academia. Devu was the most excited of all. She was looking forward to playing the big sister with him in yet another setting - in the bus, dropping him off to class. Appu on the other hand has mixed feelings. He loves riding the bus, playing with friends the new clothes, back-pack and other accessories. However the idea in general of meeting new and strange people is not very exciting for him. But he is aware that he has no choice so he did not fuss.
We dropped him off to school on his first day. I went in to his classroom with him, helped with putting the things in the cubby. He sat at his table and started to color. I kissed him and waved goodbye then we went back home. This was going to be a busy day. It was special for one other reason - Vishal Ettan and I were celebrating 10 years of marriage! We had both taken the day off to spend time with each other, which we did.
We picked up the kids from the school in the evening. Appu looked very happy after his first day at school. He seemed to have enjoyed his day. But he did come back home with a bug because he had a fever that night. Ultimately he ended up taking the entire rest of the week off! So after the first day of school he falls sick and misses the rest of the week on his very first week of school. Anyhow the bug was catching and everyone else in the family was sick too. So it was a memorable week for many kinds of reasons!
But the "adventure" continues... So starting the following week, Appu rides the bus for the first time to school with his sister. I saw them off at the bus-stop in the morning as usual. Since the baby is with me at home and it is still within business hours, I do not pick them up from the bus-stop in the evening. Big sister being a third grader and a pro in riding the school bus, we relied on her to take care of the first day logistics for her brother. But lo and behold! Devu comes home all panicked and crying uncontrollably. I asked her what happened and she told me that Appu might have slept off in the bus for he didn't get down at the stop with her and she forgot all about him until it was too late to alert the driver.
Upon hearing this I panicked not knowing what may have happened. Apparently Devu did see him get on to the bus so it could be true that he may have forgotten to get down because he clearly he was not familiar with the bus-stop this being his first time in the school bus.
I then remembered the flyer from the BSD transportation. I quickly called the number in the flyer to check if he was in the bus. The lady who picked up asked for my son's name, class and the bus route number. I gave all the information. She offered to check and call me back.
I was more nervous than ever. What if he was not in the bus? Should I call the school now to see if he is still there by chance? If he was then why didn't the school call us - hanging outside his back-pack was a laminated yellow card with my husband's and my contact numbers and the full address to our home. Is mandatory for all kindergarteners to hang this on their backpack for the eventuality of this very situation.
So if he wasn't at school, he must be still in the bus. If that's true, then he may panic to see that his sister has gone and that he was alone. What if he panicked and got down at the wrong stop, some strange place which was not familiar to him? How will he know what to do? Who will he ask for help? What will happen to a kindergartener out on the streets? Where will I even begin to search? I was beginning to panic. I didn't know what my 5 year old would do because he had never faced this situation before. Sure, his backpack had both my husband's and my contact numbers and the full address to our home. So if someone wanted to contact us, they certainly had all the information they needed.
But then...…… No! I couldn't go so far so to think that he was actually wandering lost in the streets! Not yet! I decided to call my husband only after I got some information from BSD. I reassured myself that Appu was safe. But it seemed like an eternity had passed before the call would come.
And finally the phone rang - it was the lady from BSD transportation. They were able to locate the driver and confirm that there is a child in the bus and that it was Appu!. I was beyond relieved to hear this! I thanked her profusely and asked her if they can keep him safe until my husband can pick him up. However the lady on the phone was kind enough to ask the driver to drop Appu off at the home bus-stop which he agreed to because thankfully he hadn't gone too far. So after about 30 more tense minutes I spotted the bus coming. I was worried that he would be afraid, confused and panicked to find the bus empty and to not find his sister. Instead I was relieved because when Appu stepped down from the bus, he had obviously woken up just a few minutes ago and had no clue of what had happened! Unlike Devu and I at least he didn't have a nerve-wracking experience as he was fast asleep the entire time!"
That was last year. We were glad that this year, the ordeal was very short to say the least and sincerely hoped the rest of year proves to be less 'adventurous'!
As exciting as it may be, this time of year does come with some unwanted surprises no matter how hard you try to avoid them. After the first couple of days of perfectly planned and orchestrated bus logistics I thought we were settling in to a comfortable routine. But then, one day at the end of the first week, Appu forgot to get down at his home stop. Big sister was unaware that her brother didn't step out of the bus until it was too late.
So she came back home a little panicked and told me that it looks like Appu didn't get down from the bus.
"Not again!" I thought to myself. Devu went around our neighborhood to check if he was hanging out with his friend Aiden. But when she returned alone I called BSD transportation to check if Appu is still in the bus, because apparently she did see him get on the bus. If he was still in the bus, then he may have slept off and missed the stop. The lady on the other end of the line promised to look in to it and put me on hold while she was checking. While I was waiting anxiously for a reply from her, keeping an eye out at the balcony, much to Devu's and my delight, we saw Appu walking towards us! He seemed fine, only a little tired. Upon asking him for an explanation he said he was chatting with his friend and missed the home stop and so he got down at the next stop. I was relieved to see him and gave him a big hug. I tried to keep a calm tone when I asked him to explain what happened. He told me that although he was scared at first to be at the new stop, he knew the way back home very well.
It was terrifying to imagine him walking all by himself on the footpath next to one of the busiest streets with vehicles whizzing by. And at one point he had to cross the road!!! My God! I shudder to think of what could have happened if he made a mistake or if he had not known what to do to cross the road. But we have walked that street many a time and he knew very well what was to be done. It may be just a block or two of walking but its certainly not advisable for a 1st grader to be walking there all by himself.
They say all's well that ends well, nevertheless this stirred up the memories of last year when something similar happened to us -
"Last year Appu start kindergarten. It was such an exciting time or us as a family. Our little baby was finally stepping in to the world of academia. Devu was the most excited of all. She was looking forward to playing the big sister with him in yet another setting - in the bus, dropping him off to class. Appu on the other hand has mixed feelings. He loves riding the bus, playing with friends the new clothes, back-pack and other accessories. However the idea in general of meeting new and strange people is not very exciting for him. But he is aware that he has no choice so he did not fuss.
We dropped him off to school on his first day. I went in to his classroom with him, helped with putting the things in the cubby. He sat at his table and started to color. I kissed him and waved goodbye then we went back home. This was going to be a busy day. It was special for one other reason - Vishal Ettan and I were celebrating 10 years of marriage! We had both taken the day off to spend time with each other, which we did.
We picked up the kids from the school in the evening. Appu looked very happy after his first day at school. He seemed to have enjoyed his day. But he did come back home with a bug because he had a fever that night. Ultimately he ended up taking the entire rest of the week off! So after the first day of school he falls sick and misses the rest of the week on his very first week of school. Anyhow the bug was catching and everyone else in the family was sick too. So it was a memorable week for many kinds of reasons!
But the "adventure" continues... So starting the following week, Appu rides the bus for the first time to school with his sister. I saw them off at the bus-stop in the morning as usual. Since the baby is with me at home and it is still within business hours, I do not pick them up from the bus-stop in the evening. Big sister being a third grader and a pro in riding the school bus, we relied on her to take care of the first day logistics for her brother. But lo and behold! Devu comes home all panicked and crying uncontrollably. I asked her what happened and she told me that Appu might have slept off in the bus for he didn't get down at the stop with her and she forgot all about him until it was too late to alert the driver.
Upon hearing this I panicked not knowing what may have happened. Apparently Devu did see him get on to the bus so it could be true that he may have forgotten to get down because he clearly he was not familiar with the bus-stop this being his first time in the school bus.
I then remembered the flyer from the BSD transportation. I quickly called the number in the flyer to check if he was in the bus. The lady who picked up asked for my son's name, class and the bus route number. I gave all the information. She offered to check and call me back.
I was more nervous than ever. What if he was not in the bus? Should I call the school now to see if he is still there by chance? If he was then why didn't the school call us - hanging outside his back-pack was a laminated yellow card with my husband's and my contact numbers and the full address to our home. Is mandatory for all kindergarteners to hang this on their backpack for the eventuality of this very situation.
So if he wasn't at school, he must be still in the bus. If that's true, then he may panic to see that his sister has gone and that he was alone. What if he panicked and got down at the wrong stop, some strange place which was not familiar to him? How will he know what to do? Who will he ask for help? What will happen to a kindergartener out on the streets? Where will I even begin to search? I was beginning to panic. I didn't know what my 5 year old would do because he had never faced this situation before. Sure, his backpack had both my husband's and my contact numbers and the full address to our home. So if someone wanted to contact us, they certainly had all the information they needed.
But then...…… No! I couldn't go so far so to think that he was actually wandering lost in the streets! Not yet! I decided to call my husband only after I got some information from BSD. I reassured myself that Appu was safe. But it seemed like an eternity had passed before the call would come.
And finally the phone rang - it was the lady from BSD transportation. They were able to locate the driver and confirm that there is a child in the bus and that it was Appu!. I was beyond relieved to hear this! I thanked her profusely and asked her if they can keep him safe until my husband can pick him up. However the lady on the phone was kind enough to ask the driver to drop Appu off at the home bus-stop which he agreed to because thankfully he hadn't gone too far. So after about 30 more tense minutes I spotted the bus coming. I was worried that he would be afraid, confused and panicked to find the bus empty and to not find his sister. Instead I was relieved because when Appu stepped down from the bus, he had obviously woken up just a few minutes ago and had no clue of what had happened! Unlike Devu and I at least he didn't have a nerve-wracking experience as he was fast asleep the entire time!"
That was last year. We were glad that this year, the ordeal was very short to say the least and sincerely hoped the rest of year proves to be less 'adventurous'!
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