School Begins & Bus Driver Roulette

First day of school begins today.

Most parents feel a sense of relief when their children return to the classroom.  As a special needs mom, I have a dread for Riley, my non-verbal, non-ambulatory child being sent out without me to protect him.

I am grateful as well.  The constant watchfulness of the Summer, the long hours feeding, holding him, providing therapy and being trapped indoors because our Florida heat is too much for my child are finally over.  My guard can finally come down for a moment.  I can linger a few moments over my coffee and return to the gym.  Perhaps find a little sanity.

New 1st and 4th graders.

Curiously, my de-stress became John's stress.  He took this picture because it amused him and had every intention of carrying the load into class for Ronan.  The chaos of the morning left staff demanding parents clear away cars as quickly as possible which left Ronan alone in the gymnasium with his pile of goods.  Now, he cannot forgive himself for not seeing the entire production through, especially given the panic on his child's face as he left.

John's wannabe Facebook post:

John wouldn't post this (even though I said he could) out of fear of my not sleeping with him again (married 15 yrs and disabled kid: like that would happen!)... his draft post:  First day of school and apparently after years of rift the Lee County bus sys. learns.... (John: how was the bus today?) (Me: good, in fact the bus driver wouldn't even make eye contact and barely talked to me) (John: So your reputation precedes you and they finally learned).

We are all special... by Stacie Wiesenbaugh