Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Why Mommy Was Crying Today

Today was Sammy’s last day of school. It doesn’t look like he’ll be attending another year of preschool with the district, unless a miracle comes through and someone takes pity on a kid who is 6 days older than the arbitrary limit (but that’s a story for another time, and yes, I am bitter about it). That means this was his last day riding his beloved school bus. And his last day riding with Mr. Gene.

What a bonus to have a school bus roll right up to your curb and let your kid spill out every day. I knew I’d love that little feature, but I didn’t know that it would become my favorite part of the day, due mostly to the smiling, chuckling teddy bear of a driver. Mr. Gene has been bringing Sammy home from school since he started the district special education program almost 2 years ago. His was the first name I learned from Sammy in his burgeoning school experience, before any teacher. He took the time to kibitz with me from the very beginning. He teased Sammy and calmly placated his temporary fear of fans. It tore his heart when he’d have to drop Sammy off at the daycare because Sammy made his sorrow clear that he wasn’t going home. He watched my girth expand while Sabrina was on her way and attached himself to her even before she was born. He asked me about her every single day, and got tickled every time she came to the door, obviously dying to march right on up into that bus for a ride. When I was in the hospital, he asked my mom and dad (or whoever was collecting Sammy that day) how I was and volunteered that he would take extra special care of Sammy. All this in minutes a day.

I got attached. It kills me that Sammy (and I) won’t be seeing Mr. Gene at the end of a school day (excepting the long shot miracle). As I snorfled my way up the bus steps to give him, and his trusty sidekick Ms. Beverly, hugs and a small gift, I’m sure Sammy had no idea why Mommy was sad. Perhaps we’ll run into Mr. Gene at the store like we did before, or he’ll take me up on my offer of coffee sometime. And I hope he’s not upset that I wrote about him here of the innernets. I mean it with the utmost affection. We’ll miss you, Mr. Gene. Thank you for making sending my little baby off to the educational trenches just a little bit easier. We’ll be watching for you every time we see a school bus.




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