We All Need a Little Grace

My son's ESE bus hit a deer this morning.

The bus and the kids were fine. They pulled off to the side of the road to check the damage but afterwards they couldn't get the doors to close again. The bus driver decided to rectify the situation himself, I guess. Several minutes went by to no avail. My boy did the only thing he knows how to do; he called his mama.

I was able to calm him down but I can hear the increased panic in his voice about the situation and being late to school. We talked for a few minutes then I assured him someone would let me know about the bus and that he might have to be a few minutes late for school and that was ok. He was NOT happy. But he waited, again, rather patiently I might add.

About 10 more minutes passed and I hadn't heard anything so I called him back.

He was hysterical.

The bus driver had told him I didn't need to come get him.

They still couldn't get the doors closed.

And now he was officially late for school.

As I attempted to calm him down once again, I could hear him trying to ask the driver or the aide what was going on and if they were going to leave soon. As they continued to ignore him, I could almost feel the last of his patience drift off into the cool fall air...

"MOMMY CAN YOU JUST COME GET ME?! THEY WON'T TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON AND WE'RE JUST SITTING HERE AND I'M GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!!"

I asked him to ask the driver if they were leaving soon. He didn't get a response, so he said to me "I guess that's a no!" I heard him and the driver exchange some words and my son said something like "Well, you wouldn't answer me!" and the driver said something about him being a smartass and my son said "Now you're cursing at me!?" And that was the point I gave up and told him to tell the driver I was coming to get him.

At this point it had been about 40minutes since I was first alerted about the situation. I don't know if they didn't let the supervisors know or it was just taking forever for them to receive help but I knew he was only a few minutes from where I was and could have been in class already if I had went to get him. So off I went.

I pull up to the bus on the side of the road and out flies this flash of teenage boy in a puddle of tears who nearly knocks me down, followed closely by an angry and very frustrated bus driver. My sweet boy says something like "Get me away from him" and then stormed off and knew it had to be bad. The driver immediately starts in on how he repeatedly asked my son to be quiet and told him he had to calm down multiple times but he just wouldn't stop. At one point, he even rolled his eyes at me.

I reminded him that there's a reason he's on that bus. That change, specifically in routine, can throw his whole life out of whack. Oftentimes, what calms him down is answering his questions, talking gently to him and deescalating the situation.

Obviously, that didn't happen.

And if I'm being honestly, even that doesn't always work. In the future, to save time and aggravation, I would be happy to pick him up.

And off we went to school.

As soon as we got there, he immediately went into beast mode, checking in at the office and doing exactly what he needed to do.

"Mom, I'm going to class."

Me, watching his shoulders finally relax, "You sure you're going to be ok?"

"Yea, I have to go to class. Bye."

And all was right in the world once again.