Sigh... This was Monday morning... Gracie's first day of summer school and first bus ride... and much harder for Mommy than her first day of school without me observing. Much harder.
Having Gracie take the bus was not an easy decision. But the fact is, with me taking her and picking her up each day, Preston and I were spending almost two hours in the car just for that purpose. Hardly fair to him... and with a list of "to-do's" as long as mine, not exactly the most effective use of my time. Since the summer school campus is a bit farther than her regular school, summer seemed like a good time to give the bus a trial run.
Her health aid rides with her, so she is with a trusted person and in good hands. We've had a full week on the bus now (no school on Fridays) and I am not yet sold on the idea. It could be because this is the first week where school has finally seen some of the "real" Gracie issues with feedings and excessive secretions. Their "honeymoon period" is over and that has been a little more stressful for all of us. Gracie does appear to like the bus and her aid says she does fine. It's me... I am not so fond of the rush to give report on her status in the morning and receive a report on how her day went. It feels chaotic and every morning I feel like I've forgotten to do something important. Plus, I am missing what had been my favorite part of the day - - watching her face through the rear view mirror as we pulled into the drop-off circle and seeing her light up with excitement.
I will give it time. It has, after all, only been a week and we are all trying to iron out the kinks! The great part about the bus is that Preston is getting a lot more quality time with me during the morning.
This kept Preston busy for a long time! He loved it!
Although, you can see that his favorite brush is the broom! He likes clearing his canvas!
Check out my girl coloring her arm!
This is one of her favorite activities!
"Okay, Bubby! Here I come!"
I walked in his room, saw him in his toy box, grabbed my camera and took these hurried and blurry (but fun!) pictures of him in his new hide and seek spot!
She came to see the kids (and us) this week!
5 comments:
Putting Eva on the bus was one of the hardest things I ever had to do also, but with her in school in the morning and Bailey in the afternoon it was hard to get them both where they needed to be at the sametime. I am sure it will go well!! Adorable pics also, painting with water is an awesome idea to bad i do not have enough cement to do that with.
Hugs,
Crystal and Eva
I completely understand the whole bus thing and how it feels at first... now I really enjoy putting him on the bus every morning and he just love love loves it! As a matter of fact to keep him in routine he is going to ride the bus to school when he goes to his "new school" in the fall and the school is 5 mins away from the house! It did take some getting used to though! The pics are awesome as always (coloring your body is always more fun then coloring what you are suppose to)! I loved the one you captured of John and Preston! Hope ya'll have a wonderful holiday!
Kim
Kristi, I totally understand about the bus! It took us 3 1/2 years to start putting Katie on the bus, and she still only rides it home in the afternoons. She loves riding it, and she has an aide who rides with her so we don't have to worry about safety issues. But still, we enjoy taking her in the morning because we can talk to her interpreter for a couple minutes, relay anything that's going on at home, discuss what's going on at school, etc. They do send home a lot of details in Katie's communication book every day, but still, it's just not the same as that face-to-face conversation every morning with the interpreter, especially when Katie can't tell anyone herself how she is doing or what she is working on at school, etc.
Like you too, I also enjoy taking her in the mornings and watching her walk into school--it makes me rest easier for the day knowing that she was smiling and happy as she walked into the school. Could you do just the "to" or "from" route on the bus and still drive her the other time, or would that still leave you on the road too much every day? Distance/time isn't a big concern for us because we only live five minutes from the school. If we were a lot farther away, I'd probably have to consider the bus both times a day too.
Hope you are able to figure it all out and become more comfortable with it soon!
Hugs,
Leslie
Gracie looks so cute sitting on the bus...but I can imagine how it has not been an easy decision...your photo of the bus driving away has me a little faklempt (spelling? You know what I mean, though...) imagining what that would be like. I'm glad you're giving it some time - it's a big deal - and you're so good at listening to both your mind and your heart as you make decisions, Kristi.
Loving the photos of Preston painting with water - I can't wait to show those to Viv!
I too had a hard time putting Cheyenne on the school bus for the first time. In fact, the first day, I followed the bus for the entire route & made sure she was okay at the end of the ride; talk about over-protective, hahaha!! But she loves to ride on the bus & before too long I was used to the new AM routine. Hang in there, you'll be glad you did this!
Love all the pics, Gracie & Preston are adorable! :-D
Lori & Cheyenne
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