My Quarter Mile

I realized the other day that I hadn’t blogged in a while. I tried to think if there was anything that had happened recently blog worthy. Nothing came to mind, until the next day. Now I have mentioned how short me route is. In fact, some of the sub’s call my route “stupid easy” since there are only a hand full of stops in a 1/4 mile. So on the next day I came to the first stop and one of my “big family” ( multiple kids) students got on and stated very matter of fact to me “my sister was up all night throwing up!” then continued her seat, as I sit there thinking to myself “ you were exposed to some sort of flu and now you just exposed me...GREAT!”.  I closed the doors and went to stop number two. As I got to this stop I could see one of my 3rd graders running for the bus, so I waited. When she walked up the stairs she says to me, “ I really should start drinking coffee so I won’t be late anymore” reminder she is a 3rd grader and about 8 yrs old! I just started laughing and closed the door. Now this next stop was something I have NEVER seen before...as I approached the stop I see this father in his car rushing to the stop with his child in the back seat. He jumps out opens the back door, let’s his daughter out and gives her a little push to hurry so she doesn’t miss the bus. He then turns around without looking and gets back into the car. He then shuts the car door and realizes he is in the back seat!  He then gets out of the back seat, looks around to see if anyone saw what he did then says something to his daughter like nothing happened. He gets back into the car and drives away. I could not stop laughing until I got to the next stop until I saw the “bus stop fashion mom’s”. You see on my route there is what I call “suburbia morning bus stop fashion”, and at the last stop this one particular morning I got just that!  What it is, are Mom’s standing there with Rubber or UGG boots, pajama pants, long coats to cover the backside, hair in pony tails and no makeup or makeup left on from the night before, with coffee cups in hand trying to wave or kiss their child while getting on the bus. Then there is the child trying to act like they don’t know who that women is! ( you know the look) 

Since that was my last stop of the morning I could not believe that all of those things just happened in less than 15 minutes in one day!  But they did and now I am sharing them with you...hope you got a chuckle out of this one :)

Snow & Smells

As I look back on January, I remember it being right after Martin Luther King weekend. I am sitting in my bed with my PJ’s on and it is 4: 30am in the morning. I have the TV on, Facebook up on my computer and my cell phone in my hand. I am like that  person waiting for the winning lottery or Keno number to come up on one of my screens. The anticipation is killing me. “ come on show me the closer!” I say to the screens. Then at precisely at 4:41 am, one of my co-works posted on Facebook what I had been waiting for.... “ School Closed, just got my call”.  YAHOOOOO! I know, I am worse than one of the kids :) So now, it is time to decide what to do for the whole “snow day”.  This is another one of those reasons I love driving a school bus, because we get all the holidays and snow days that the kids do. Yes, let me tell you I am seriously like one of the kids on a snow day. I am out in the snow as much as possible!  It just so happens that this was our first of many snow days here in Washington. The first day the roads were just barely covered and I was surprised that they called the whole day and not just a 2 hrs late start, but who am I to complain? So I ended up going to the mall with my daughter and getting supplies for the house because they were calling for more snow. The rest of the week we got over a foot of snow and then the freezing rain. So with the holiday weekend and all the snow days, I was off of work and at home for over a week. I couldn’t wait to get back to driving and a normal schedule. The following Monday, the snow had melted mostly but the temperatures were still low. Our first day back ending up being a 2 hour late start. I am not so sure that was enough time because the snow had melted plus the rain then overnight temperatures dropped below 30. Which is a recipe for some really icy roads in the mornings. Which they were, I say this because while I was walking out to my car at home I almost fell on my biscuits. Then driving into the bus barn I watched people slide all over the roads.  What really made me think that we shouldn’t have been at work, was when I stood right outside  the door of base / transportations lounge. What I saw was like an episode of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” I waited for the sound effects to be going off because I stood there watching my co-workers walk super carefully across the sheet of ice that covered our bus parking lot. Then I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or help when I saw two of my co-workers do that “banana peel slip” move and fall right on their biscuits.  I am seriously kicking myself for not video taping this. It was quite comical to watch. Yet, you have to wonder what the bosses were thinking in a situation like this. What if someone seriously had gotten hurt? I say this because the rest of the morning all we heard over the radio was about kids falling and buses sliding. Oh well we got through it and to say the least it was an interesting first day back after a great snow storm! 

Now, I have written in my past blogs about how little air flow there is in my bus and how the windows get all steamed up on rainy days. Well, there is another down fall of this very poor air circulation.....SMELLS!  In fact, one of the things that I really stress when going over the rules of the bus at the beginning of every year is to not wear or apply any perfumes or lotions while on the bus.One of the reasons for that is because if a person does apply, the whole bus will smell it. yet if a student has asthma, if could possibly trigger a breathing attack. This is my way of communicating to the students I can smell everything on the bus! I have smelled nail polish, hand sanitizer, matches and many other things. Over the years, I have taking many sports trips. I realized very quick which ones I no longer wanted to take...football and soccer. These two sports always play no matter what. Say it is raining, they are out in the grass, mud and rain, running up and down the field sweating their teenage hormonal bodies off for the win. Well, you have heard the saying “it smells like a locker room in here”. Oh you have not smelled anything until you cram 50 wet, muddy, sweaty athletic bodies plus all their gear into a 40 foot bus! This is were you go YUCK!! How about the walking teenage whoopee cushion? Oh yes, stink bombs, farting or whatever you what to call it....are the worse! I know that you can’t aways control your bodily functions timing and need to release the gas unexpectedly but OMG, on the bus? With all the windows up it smells like an outhouse!  So is a little tip for new drivers...close your driver window ASAP!!! If you don’t... that smell has no where to go but towards you right past your nose and out the window! So close your window and have the kids in the back ( preferably  the trouble makers) to put down their windows for a few minutes. This should clear out the smell in no time. Plus, you get to smile knowing that they just had to inhale that wonderful smell! :) 

Gotta Love Dogs!

As I finish my first week back taking mid-days, AKA kindergarden/preschool routes, for the first time in almost 5 years.  I was reminded that kids come with all types of chaperones. Sometimes it is mom or dad, other times it could be an older sibling or Grandparent, it can even be a daycare provider or friend. The one chaperone that is always cute and unpredictable is one in the form of a K9. I came across this type of chaperone this week on one of the mid-days I was driving. I was driving the route and I was about 5 minutes early so I pulled over in front of the students house and I put on my hazards and honked my horn to let the parent know that I was there.With this being a preschool route I am required to get out of my seat and help the student get all buckled in. So I unbuckle and wait sitting sideways in my seat until the student comes out.  The parent communicated back by opening the door and keeping it open while she got the student ready for preschool. I know this because she made me wait the five minutes that I was early while she brushed the young girls hair, washed her face, put on her jacket and shoes then look for the backpack that was so desperately needed. By this time the student was out on the porch looking back at her mother like “hurry up, I want to go”! Waiting with the student was a black lab mix dog that was about 6 months old. The dog kept looking into the house at mom and back at the student wondering which way it should go. Once the mother handed the little girl her backpack, she walked down the sidewalk toward the bus. She then stopped at the door of the bus turned around waved at mom and told the black lab “Midnight” to go! The little girl preceded to get on the bus. I stand up to help her and then I watch Midnight outside of the bus as he watched the girl go onto the bus and down the aisle. Midnight then looked at mom on the porch and turned back to the bus and continued to get on! I acted quickly by squatting down like a football quarterback waiting for the snap with my feet heels together blocking the aisle. While the mom runs out of the house then grabs the dogs collar which is to big and slides right off Midnights head while I am pushing Midnight off the bus. We finally got Midnight off then I realized I had caught my jeans on the bus metal bracket that holds the door release handle and put a hole in my jeans. Oh great I say as I get the little girl all buckled into her seat. This was funny and out of the ordinary situation. One of reasons I needed to act so quickly was because not knowing this dog, which seemed sweet, may have acted differently with me and the other students. In addition, what was the other students reactions going to be? Had they had bad experiences with other dogs or were they allergic? You just never know what can happen. 

I am glad that this ended up being just a cute story that I was able to share. Yet by having this happen I then think about another student on my regular everyday route. This student is a first grader and his house sits back about half a football field away from the road. His K9 chaperon is a black pit-bull mix female named “Bella” she walks or runs with him to the end of the driveway and up to the bus door. She checks that he gets on and waits for me to close the doors before returning to the house. She then will do the same in the afternoon. It just makes me smile and realize what a great loving dog she is. 

Then you have the ones that are what I call “micro dogs” the ones that people carry or the ones like jack Russell's that run circles around the students as they are trying to catch them. This type K9  happened a couple of years ago where it had  broken  out to the house like a jail prisoner. The kids starts chasing it in hopes to get it back into the house before having to get onto the bus. So here is this dog just running hula hoop circles around this kid and then the other students at the stop decide to help. So as I am pulling up to the stop I see this slew of kids running around in circles chasing this dog that is going mach speed around them...it is a huge cat and mouse race! As I slow down to make the stop the dog runs behind my front wheels under the bus the thru to the other side. I’lI could do was stop quickly, hold my breath and wish for the best. Because the last thing I needed was to have 20 elementary kids watch a dog get squished under the bus tires at 8:30 am before school. Thank goodness I reacted in time and all was ok, the parent was able to grab the dog and we were off to school with a great story to tell. 

Bus Mom

The main purpose of my job as a bus driver is to keep the students safe while transporting them to and from school. While doing this I have turned into a bus mom. just like a regular mom I look after the students to make sure that are not hitting each other, rough housing, using bad language  or being mean. When they do we sometimes have to put them in a time out, better known as the front seat.  In fact I have had to take care of students that have had bloody noses, lost teeth and even have accidents. like yesterday I had a couple of my elementary notify me that one of the little girls was crying. So when I was able to stop the bus in a safe area I had the other student that was sitting with this little girl come up to the front to talk to me. I asked him what was wrong with her. He was quickly to answer, “She says her tummy hurts and she is going to throw up”. At that moment a couple of thing need to happen. The first thing is I tell him to take the trash can back to the seat with him so in case she does throw up it will go into the trash can and not the floor. Because what I have learned from the past is that if you don’t have a place for vomit to go....it will go everywhere! and if you have ever watched the movie “Stand by me” where the one actor is telling about the pie eating contest at the fair and the contestant vomits. Once one vomits then another and another until you have a “barforama”! Well with the bus being a enclosed environment this is not something you want to happen. If it did it was smell so bad that you wouldn’t get it out of the bus for many years unless you hose the inside of it out with pine sol!  So of course I defused the situation with the trash can! the next thing I wanted to do is get her home ASAP because I was worried about her. Lucky for me her house is close to one to my stops so I was able to get her home, honk the bus horn for mom to come out and get her before any damage was done. You see the regulations that we have for the buses doesn't allow us to have things on the bus like paper towels, Kleenex or other things that we may need when these bloody noses and other bodily fluid situations occur. So when they happen we are scrabbling to find things that we can use until we get to the school where we sent a student in or have the school send a teacher out. Either way we are stuck.  So you learn to be Macgyver it and use whatever you can find to stop the nose bleed or whatever the situation may be. 

Another reason I refer to myself as a bus mom is that there has been times when there has been very sports talented kids that don't always have the support from their parents or the parents have to work so they miss out on games and such. So I try to be there for them like when I can I will bid on a sports trip that they will be going to a game and I root them on. There was one time I had this girl that made it to the state basketball play offs and not one of her family members could make it, so I was able to take the trip. Once the trip was over I saw that there where some photographers there taking pictures of the games. there just so happened to be one of her at the free throw line that was amazing! so I bought it for her and gave it to her when we got back to the school. she was so grateful that from that point on when ever she went to a dance and got her Senior pictures she always gave me one. 

The one girl I will never forget about was the one we called “homeless”. Our district has a program that will transport a student that has to move out of district because of living and home situations. So we try to keep the student in the same school at least during this time in their lives. So I was driving out of district to pick this girl up who was a senior and she was living with her father in a trailer. Her father was a long haul driver so she was basically living on her own. She would tell me about having to wash her clothes in the bath tub and extra. I started making sure she had what she needed since her father was doing what he could to provide but she was a girl and we all know that girls need things Dad’s just don't understand about. What touched me most was she was also staying after school to make up credits that she had failed earlier in 9th and 10th grade so she could graduate with her class. She was determined to graduate high school because neither of her parents had. Then came the end of the year and prom rolled around. She wanted to go so bad but her father just couldn’t afford it and her boyfriend was also being raised by his grandparents. (just a side note...he used to ride my bus a few years back.) So I had these bus mom feels of helping these two young very driven students. I reached out to the other drivers and told them the story. I called in some favors from my friends that did hair and nails. When it was all said and done this couple had  prom tickets, tux & dress, dinner and pictures all paid for! The good news is that they both graduated. 

These are just a few reasons I call myself a “Bus Mom”

Happy New 1/2 Year!

As many of you are celebrating the fact that it is a new calendar year and you have set your resolutions. Us bus drivers are celebrating the fact that we are half way through our school calendar year. This marks that we are going to have a 2 month vacation in 6 months...YAHOO! Plus, we have a bunch of National holidays in there and not to mention spring break. So yes this is a little different perspective for us bus drivers since we don’t have to dwell on the 12 months of “how is this year going to be different”. For us this year is half over and so far so good. With that said and with just coming back from winter break I have had a pretty good week. I am not sure what happened to my students over the winter break. I think that Santa brought them a big bag of politeness because as my high and middle school students got off the bus at the school in the morning on Tuesday I would say half of them said, “Thank you”. So here I am sitting in my seat repeating “ you are welcome” about 30 times. I felt like a broken record. I guess I am going to have to come up with something a little more witty like, “No.... Thank you” or Have a great day and learn something useful” or say something back to them crazy like " shoes" just to see if you are listening..LOL.  I don’t know I guess I will have to work on that. 

The one thing that I decided to do in this new 1/2 year is to start taking what we call mid-day routes. We have a big white board that posts other drivers kindergarden or pre-school routes. This is where if the regular driver is going to be gone for whatever reason other drivers can bid to drive it for them on that day. Many subs do this to earn extra hours and money. I to need a little more cash flow this year for a few months. so I went up to our dispatcher and asked her to show me how the process works since I haven’t taken a mid-day in probable 4 years. Many people standing around that over heard this were definitely shocked since, "I never take a mid-day" as they stated. So she showed me and in return i will have more interesting material to write about for this blog....so stay tuned :)

So, yesterday I got to my first elementary stop where I pick up about 20 students. Apparently one of the students had to run back to the house because she forgot her violin. The reason I know this is because every single kid that got on the bus and said, “ Lucy went to get her violin”.  They are so helpful at this age or they think I have Alzheimer's and need to be reminded 20 times in a 2 min period. 

The one thing I still don’t understand and maybe it is because I am not a teacher or school district administrator, is why after a two week vacation come back on a Tuesday and Wednesday we have a one hour late start. Then a week and a half later we have a day off. Ok, that last one is a holiday but still.   

So I look forward to all the events and stories that this new 1/2 year will bring and I will get to share them all with you :)

Tis the Season

On days like today when the weather is 20 degrees and as I drive my frozen Twinkie down the road. The trees are frosty and the mornings are still dark. I love that some residents leave their holiday lights on all night so that I have the pleasure to enjoy them on my way to pick my students up. It is so peaceful and relaxing. ...then the kids get on the bus. 

The students are all bundled up so much they look like big puffy stuffed animals. Like today, there was this first grader who was late for the bus. He was running as fast as his little 2 foot long legs could move in his big winter coat, heavy back pack and a crocodile  looking hat ( see picture)  on his head that was 2 sizes to big. The hat was so big it was falling down over his eyes resting on his nose. As he got to my service door his stuffed the remainder for his breakfast that was in his hand into his mouth which made his checks puff out and he was unable to close his mouth all the way. He then grabbed the rail and raised his leg up as far as he could to make the step and got on the bus. All I could do is chuckle...it was so cute and funny! 

Then there are the high schoolers, that don’t wear coats or anything to keep them warm. They are standing out there in the 20 degree weather in shorts and t-shirts. I just don't get it. They even complain how cold they are. I frequently respond  to them with “ you know they make these things called coats, that you put over your body to keep you warm.” Of course they just give me that look like Duh! I even had a high school student ask me early in the year if I could make my bus “drift”. Apparently they have been watching the movie  “Fast and Furious”. I explained to this student that a bus is not made to do that. Yet on the days that roads are frosty and icy like today, I do have a tendency to slide around a corner or two. Which I have to  be careful not to hit a light pole or tree on these narrow suburb streets. So I guess today the bus did “drift” at little. 

Over the last ten years the holidays have changed for me as a bus driver. I remember when I would wear Christmas clothes, Santa hats or Reindeer horns throughout the month. I would even give all the students mini candy canes on the last day of school before Holiday break. Then there was the holiday music that I would have play on the radio the whole month of December. Yes, things have changed in the last ten years. I have found that since the district and everyone else have become “respectful to others culture and beliefs” I have had to change the way I can express my holiday spirit. I feel that since I have to be careful not to offend the students, parents and other drivers, I have lost my freedom of mine own expression. It used to be fun and joyful but now it has been about everyone else's feelings. Well, what about mine? I do enjoy our transportation holiday dinner and gift giving that we still do if people want to partake. 

I look forward to these last days before the holiday winter break because I get cards and gifts from some of my students. I wish I had a sticker on my bus that says, “ I drive for Starbucks gift cards” :)  This is one of the times of year that I know that the families and students really do appreciate all I do. 

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Everyone! 

How it Happened

As my blog gets more notice amongst my coworkers, friends and the school bus community.  There is one question that gets asked the most, “ Why did you become a bus driver?”. Here is that story....

A little over ten years ago I was going through a divorce. I was new to this city and needed a job. I was now a single mom of two young children 4 and 8. So I needed a job where I didn’t need a lot

 of childcare and the flexibility where I could be active in my children's’ school lives. I started out by driving around town and putting in applications everywhere and anywhere. In fact, I was puling out of the Pepsi distribution center here in our area when I looked across the street and saw a sign that read “ Drivers Needed” on the front gate of the school bus lot. I sat there for a minute and thought about it. I had worked with children when I was a nanny for 3 years and ran a daycare center for a year. Also I come from a long line of truck drivers. Both my grandfathers where truck drivers and so are a few of my uncles. So for me it was like “ I can do this!” so I drove over and went it. They asked me a few questions and then sent me over the main office to fill out an application, back then they didn’t have online applications :) I then waited and about a week later when they called for an interview. When I went to the interview I didn’t realize that the whole office staff was going to be there. So the supervise of transportation, the Head Driver trainer & special needs coordinator, the Office secretary, payroll/dispatcher and finally the Fleet/ Shop supervisor all in this tiny room interviewing me. What I remember most about that meeting was that the two ladies did most of the asking of questions and the Fleet supervisor doodled on the paper in front of him...LOL. After the intern view process was over I then had to go take the drug testing and start 6 to 8 weeks of Bus Driver Bootcamp! Ok it is really just training but it took FOREVER!  Because I wasn’t just learning how to drive different types of buses on the streets and how to not hit anything. I also had to watch and read as much information about safety, WAC codes, laws on state and federal levels, district policies and union contract. Mind you none of this is paid! So in 6-8 weeks I got my Masters degree in School Bus Driver better known as a CDL ( commercial drivers license).   

I then had to prove to my driver trainer who I would like to add was the state School Bus Rodeo Champion in our state for 6 years! More on what a school bus rodeo will be covered in a different blog. And no there are no clowns and we don’t ride on top for 8 seconds :).  So after proving that I could drive and student mange I was what the office calls, “ Let loose” to start subbing on routes for drivers. So on my very first solo route was a special needs bus. I remember it like yesterday because it was the one and only time I have ever backed into and hit anything in the 10 years that I have driven!  I had dropped off a student at their house and backed out of the driveway and right into a mailbox. I was so scared and flustered when I got back to transportation. I called the owner of the mailbox and her response was “ Don’t worry about it. in fact I should thank you for squishing it. I have this fish mailbox that I have been wanting to put up and my husband wouldn’t let me. And now I can :)”  when I shared this with my boss, we both just laughed!  Because you don’t always get that great of a response from the people in the community. 

I have to say that this has been a great job over the years. It has allowed me to volunteer for my children’s field trips and events. I was able to go back to college and get my Associates Degree. I have been able to work as much or as little as I needed for income. I had the opportunity to take trips for the schools sports teams and other classes to places I would not have had the money or time to go see. I have met some of the most wonderful people and students over this time as a school bus driver. Now I am blogging for a national published magazine " School Transportation News" which will start showing up on their website in January 2012.