Shortly after school started last fall, and my eldest baby began leaving me every day, all day, I received a phone call from our the Transportation Division of our local School Board. Would I be willing to have the bus stop moved to our house? The words were not cold on her lips before I enthusiastically cried "Yes!" I think she thought I must be a little over excited about this turn of events. Let me begin at the beginning.
The original bus stop was a WHOLE TWO DRIVEWAYS AWAY. A 100 or so meters at best. An incredibly long trudge, I assure you. But it wasn't really about getting E1 to the bus stop. It was the dilemma of what to do with E2 and E3 that caused the morning and afternoon angst. Generally, they were OK left by themselves for 5 minutes or so. But then again, timing it so they were not left alone one minute longer became a serious issue.
So, one of the best things about our neighbourhood was when the family that used to have the bus stop moved, and a retired couple, who love their lawn a great deal more than I, moved in, and asked that the bus stop be removed from their home. Hallelujah!
But, I have found, even better than that, is the increased sense of community. Every morning, half a dozen or so parents meet with their wee offspring to wait for the bus. On bad weather days, we wait in our garage. In better weather, we all wait outside. Either way, we catch up since we last met, compare notes on what our children's classes are doing (there are 5 kindergarten classes at our school), and generally hang out. One family has a key that allowed them to come and check on Sir Winston when we got snowed in a couple of weekends ago, a full hour and a half away, so the poor little guy could get outside to pee instead of using a couch leg. The now communal skating frame is kept in our garage, whose door is always open, so anyone can go skating on the pond that has formed on the empty lot behind us. Some dad will always make sure the ice is clear, even if it takes a snow blower.
Today, for instance, we are all working our way through the Flu, Pt II, and bracing for The Storm of the Century, scheduled for this Wednesday. Which also happens to be a PD Day at our school. We make plans with each other to make sure every child has a place to go, compare illness notes, and get on with our day.
In short, our driveway/bus stop has become a little mini-community within our little subdivision community, which is a pretty awesome place to be.
1.
2. The original bus stop was a WHOLE TWO DRIVEWAYS AWAY. A 100 or so meters at best. An incredibly long trudge, I assure you. But it wasn't really about getting E1 to the bus stop. It was the dilemma of what to do with E2 and E3 that caused the morning and afternoon angst. Generally, they were OK left by themselves for 5 minutes or so. But then again, timing it so they were not left alone one minute longer became a serious issue.
So, one of the best things about our neighbourhood was when the family that used to have the bus stop moved, and a retired couple, who love their lawn a great deal more than I, moved in, and asked that the bus stop be removed from their home. Hallelujah!
But, I have found, even better than that, is the increased sense of community. Every morning, half a dozen or so parents meet with their wee offspring to wait for the bus. On bad weather days, we wait in our garage. In better weather, we all wait outside. Either way, we catch up since we last met, compare notes on what our children's classes are doing (there are 5 kindergarten classes at our school), and generally hang out. One family has a key that allowed them to come and check on Sir Winston when we got snowed in a couple of weekends ago, a full hour and a half away, so the poor little guy could get outside to pee instead of using a couch leg. The now communal skating frame is kept in our garage, whose door is always open, so anyone can go skating on the pond that has formed on the empty lot behind us. Some dad will always make sure the ice is clear, even if it takes a snow blower.
Today, for instance, we are all working our way through the Flu, Pt II, and bracing for The Storm of the Century, scheduled for this Wednesday. Which also happens to be a PD Day at our school. We make plans with each other to make sure every child has a place to go, compare illness notes, and get on with our day.
In short, our driveway/bus stop has become a little mini-community within our little subdivision community, which is a pretty awesome place to be.
3.
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