Hop on the Bus, Gus

“Mommy, where are you going!?” my oldest son asked me, alarmed.

The school bus was due at 8:10. I had an 8:15 appointment in Ayer and had gone to start my car which was parked adjacent to the front porch where we were waiting, so it would be ready to go as soon as the big boys were picked up. (The youngest goes to daycare with Daddy.) I had warned the office that I’d likely be a few minutes late. “As long as you’re not more than ten…” the receptionist had said.

“Nowhere, honey.” I called. “I’m just warming up the car.”

The bus was late. I started to get annoyed, because I’d probably be pushing that ten-minute threshold. Then I thought about the bus driver. She was new. The boys told me about how they play peekaboo with her baby who goes along for the ride every day. My boys are the first on the bus so they sit up front and have ample time and opportunity to make eyes with this little girl.

I remember what it’s like to get up and get going in the morning with a baby or two, and for eight crazy months before I secured a telecommuting position, three boys five and under. It’s no picnic, but as the proverbial saying goes, it does get easier.

All their lives until now, I have driven the boys to daycare and/or “early start” at school first thing in the morning. Some of the time this meant I was commuting an hour plus each way up and down Routes 119 and 495 (our daycare is in Townsend). Frequently, I dialed into conference calls en route, much to the chagrin of those “Hang up and drive”-bumper-sticker people, I am sure. It was simply impossible to get my kids where they needed to be and get to the office to make a 7:30 a.m. call. And every day I had to leave work by 4:30 – thus losing valuable “face time” – in order to make the 5:30 pick up. My commute home sometimes included a late concall or at the very least, several calls to *1 to check the traffic advisory to make sure I took the route that would get me to daycare on time.

While I have worked at home for the past year and a half, my kids still go to daycare and an after school program, because I can’t work around them during business hours. (And anyone who thinks differently is welcome to take them to his office for the day and see how productive he is.)

As I rejoined my children on the porch, the bus was turning down our street.

I put my arm around my oldest and pulled him close as I bent over to whisper in his ear. “I would never leave you – you know that, right?” At least not until you’re ready for me to…I added to myself.

He blinked and gave me a small nod as I ushered him and his brother across the street and onto the bus.