Riding the School Bus

I think I've mentioned before that six weeks after we got here we discovered there was actually a bus to the girls' kindergarten. But by that time, the weather was lovely and we were firmly in our routine of walking the mile or so to school each day. And I had to walk right by their school to get to the law school, so why not walk them to school?!

Well, as the weather has gotten hotter and hotter, I've rethought that decision! This week the girls started to take the bus. It took a while for us to arrange it -- apparently you're supposed to sign up at the beginning of the school year and pay the special fee, and trying to do it at the tail end of the school year makes everyone think you're crazy. For a while they wanted me to pay the full fee for just the last few weeks because they just didn't know how to pro-rate it, but they eventually just threw up their hands and waived the fee. I guess that's my reward for all the English classes! We finally got it arranged, and what a blessing! The bus stops two blocks from our apartment, so no more sweltering hikes in the heat! And the girls feel so grown up now that they ride the bus.


I'm glad I didn't know about this at the beginning, though. Walking the girls to school gave me a real opportunity to see the school and feel comfortable with them there. I was able to build relationships with the teachers. And sitting in the courtyard watching the girls play after school gave me a chance to know other parents and grandparents. On nice days, that was one of my favorite parts of the day.

But waiting at the bus stop this week I've met different parents. It might have made it easier to make play dates with kids in our immediate neighborhood. The best of all possible worlds would probably have been to walk girls to school a few days a week and have them take the bus a few days a week. But I can't imagine the consternation that out-of-the-box suggestion would have caused!