It's just not a new school year without bus drama.

I don't know what it is with the bus system here in Clark County, or maybe it's just this side of town, but today is only the second day of the new school year, and we already had another encounter with the oh-so-reliable (hope you can sense my sarcasm there) bus system.

So, L (my three-year-old son) started preschool with the school district yesterday, and he is so excited about his new teacher, his new friends, his new classroom - but most of all, he is excited about the five-minute bus ride that he gets to take to the school. Maybe he sees it as a little adventure, a way for him to exhibit a sense of independence. 

Because the pre-school program is considered special ed (he qualified on account of his speech delay), they bus him to and from school, even though the school is only five blocks away. It's pretty neat too, because they come right to house to pick him up, they strap him into his little car seat, and then they hand-deliver him to his teacher at the school, who comes to the bus every morning to retrieve him. His pick-up time from the house in the morning is 8:51 a.m., so we've been going out front to wait for the bus at 8:45 a.m. to ensure we are ready when the bus arrives. 

This morning, we went out at the usual time and waited, and waited...and waited. But the bus never showed up. We waited around until about 9:10 a.m. (thinking maybe there was a delay because it's still the first week of school), and then tried calling the transportation line. I tried calling them several times, in fact, but the line just continued to ring busy. I finally called the school to alert them of the situation, and they informed me that they too had been trying (unsuccessfully) to get through to transportation. The office attendant asked if I could drive him to school, but I told her that I didn't have a car (Z took it to work today), but that I could walk him - it would just take me a half hour or so. 

So yeah...I got the awesome privilege of walking my three-year-old (and the baby, who is 15 months old) to school in 100 degree weather, and he was 45 minutes late. Yay. Not to say that I didn't need the exercise, but it would sure be nice to get through an entire school year without any bus-related drama. 

When we finally did get to the school, I popped into the front office to notify the staff that we were there, and the administrator who I had spoken to earlier informed me that she had finally gotten ahold of transportation, and that she was told the bus had, in fact, stopped by the house, but that we weren't there. What a load of garbage. I have half a mind to make a call into the supervisor tomorrow. 

Source: twowritingteachers.wordpress.com via The Purple on Pinterest

Related links:

Middle School Mayhem: The day my heart stood still!

Tales of a 6th-grade drama queen.