So, the kids started school on Monday, August 27th! Here are the pics taken very early that morning. They look good here, but they would be a bit worn out by the day's end...especially the girls. The school bus issues started right off the bat. At 6:45am the girls were at their bus stops ready to go. Kayla's stop is in our apartment complex, but Emma's is 1/2 mile away, so Darrin drives them to their bus stops. Their buses were each supposed to pick them up at 6:45. Emma's bus finally arrived at about 7:05am. Kayla's bus never arrived. At 7:15 Darrin drove her to school. The tardy bell rings at 7:25. They both arrived on time. Adam's school doesn't start until 9:15, and his school is only a few blocks from us, so we decided it would be easier for him to be a car rider. So, we took Adam to school and went off to our own 9:00 class. Darrin got out of class at 12:00. I wasn't done with class until 3:40. The girls get out of school at 2:15 and Adam gets out at 3:45. The plan was that Darrin would pick up the girls at their bus stops around 2:30, he would come pick me up from class at 3:40, and we would then go pick up Adam at 3:45. Well, that didn't exactly work out on Monday. At 3:40 I left my class and went outside where I expected to find Darrin waiting for me. He wasn't there. I called him and found him in a panic in Emma's school office. An hour and a half after Emma got out of school, she still wasn't home, and no one seemed to know where the bus was. We didn't let Emma take her cell phone to school that day because we didn't know what the school's cell phone policy was, so no one was able to get in touch with her. Kayla also did not get on the bus and come home. Because the bus didn't pick her up that morning, she didn't know what bus to get on, and the first day of high school with 3000 students was quite overwhelming for her. So she stood outside of the school and waited for Darrin to come pick her up. So, I'm standing outside of my class getting all of this info over the phone...I have no car...and it's time to pick Adam up from his first day of school. I'm in a bit of a panic at this point myself. Poor Darrin has been dealing with this for over an hour, but I'm stuck by myself and can do nothing to help at all. I don't even have the school phone numbers in my cell phone yet, so I can't even call Adam's school to say we will be late picking him up. Finally Emma's school gets in touch with the bus driver and we learn that she is almost home. Darrin comes to pick me up...we go get Adam...and go home to find Emma there waiting. Everyone had to take a few moments just to breathe and gather themselves after all of that. In addition to the bus issues, the girls did not really enjoy their first day of school. Wall-to-wall kids, not knowing anyone, not knowing where they were going, and the bus issues on top of all of that did not make for a good first day. :0( Adam, however, had a great first day....Praise God!
Day 2...Tuesday...same bus issues...Emma's bus was late...Kayla's never got there at all. Emma did get home a bit earlier in the afternoon....3:30 maybe...and Kayla did figure out which bus to ride home. Oh, and both the girls took their cell phones to school. At least we can get in touch with them through this mess. And both schools allow cell phones, so no rules were broken.
Day 3...Wednesday...Darrin takes the girls out to the van at 6:40am to drive them to their bus stops for the 3rd attempt to get this morning routine right. Well, the van won't start. He tells them to walk quickly to the bus stops. We only have the van with us. Darrin's car has been at the house in Danville all this time, so when the only vehicle we have breaks down...it's a big PAIN! So, our neighbors try to help us jump start the van. It won't jump...it won't do anything. Well, in the midst of this, we get phone calls from both of the girls. Kayla's bus actually picked her up at the bus stop. Emma's bus was actually on time that day as well, but because she had to walk a 1/2 mile to catch it, she missed it....so she walked back home. Since the van wouldn't jump and we didn't have a clue what was wrong with it, we had to call a tow truck. It arrived a couple of hours later. Darrin went with the tow truck and van. I got Adam to school with the neighbor's help. At this point, Emma didn't want to go to school, and we didn't make her. Darrin also missed his morning class. It turned out that it was just a bad battery...it was just so far gone that it wouldn't jump. It would have been nice to know that BEFORE we had it towed, but oh well...what can you do? The van was back in working order by noon. Darrin made it to his afternoon class and we were able to pick up Adam from school. Kayla's bus got her home safely on time.
Day 4...Thursday....Emma's bus is late...again...turns out the bus broke down and the driver had to get a new one. Kayla's picked her up on time. That afternoon both of the girls arrived home safely...on time. :0)
Day 5...Friday....both buses arrived on time in the morning and in the afternoon!!!! Praise God!!!!
We still don't have TV, so we don't know much about what's going on in the world around us, but I did see on a local news website that this problem was all over Wake County. Evidently, they cut about 55 bus routes this year in order to save money. It didn't work out so well for them...frantic (and angry) parents were all over Wake County this week. They are working to rectify the situation. :0)
After a week of getting into the routine, the girls are happier with their schools. They are getting adjusted and making some new friends. Kayla especially loves her modern dance class! :0) Adam has had a great first week! I haven't heard one complaint from him about school. He enjoys his day...he has done well with his homework...he even made it through PE class twice this week! :0) He was concerned about that before he went. PE hasn't been his favorite class in the past. I really don't know why...he had 2 of the best PE teachers on the East Coast for the past 4 years!!! :0) (Miss you guys!!!!) Anyway, he even liked PE...wonders never cease! A crazy first week of school...but it turned out well, all things considered.
A long weekend now and a short school week next week....those 2 are a great combination!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment