The Bus Aide

I saw a familiar face on the bus yesterday morning as our defiant 10-year-old climbed the stairs. She has served as an aide on our son's bus before, albeit many years ago. A kind woman, she and I spoke often. That morning, however, I couldn't get over the shock of seeing her face.

Not only was I seeing her amidst the semi-crisis of our older son deciding he was too cool to sit ON HIS BUM on the bus like the rest of us dorks in the world. But, oh gosh, do you think she remembers what I remember?

"S**t" said our then 4-year-old younger son to her and to the rest of her charges on her afternoon bus that sunny day years ago. I remember it so well. To clarify, that word that he said? It rhymed with "sit", and it was a bad, bad word.

I was shocked.

So was she.

We stared at each other, our eyes wide. Staring, the bus attendant and the mother of a foul-mouthed preschooler, and saying not one word. The minutes passed like hours.

"I'm so proud," was all I could muster. And, I scurried along the diaper padded bottom of my angelic son as quickly as I could to get us both out of sight.

I couldn't blame him. He was young and impressionable. And, just that morning, his low verbal brother had announced the same word to his morning bus. I turned my head to laugh and, as I did, I looked squarely into the eyes of our younger son.

Don't think he didn't notice.

He decided to prove that point in public on the afternoon bus, I guess. It was a stellar day in our home, that day. Yes, it was.

There I was again this morning, years later, face-to-face with this kind woman, and my children were once again being themselves.

Once I recovered from the shock of seeing her, I noticed that our older son had made his way onto the floor beside his seat. Alrighty, then! Well, at least we're keeping appearances to her consistent.

Five minutes of hard talking later, our son was sitting ON HIS BUM on the seat of the bus as it drove out of the driveway. I said a silent prayer that he didn't change his mind some time before they hit the school parking lot, causing the bus to turn around and come home.

It wasn't yet 9am. I'd had an unexpected shot of adrenaline to jump start my day. I opened the door to our house to tend to our younger, school phobic son, wondering what will be happening in our lives when next I unexpectedly find myself face-to-face with that kind bus aide.