Daily A~Musing #37: Watching Big People Say Goodbye to Short People Getting on the School Bus

My daily commute to and from work is approximately 40 minutes, depending on the weather.  (And, in Maine, A LOT depends on the weather.)  I used to spend vast amounts of time and energy trying various routes between home and work in an effort to avoid getting stuck behind school buses.  

If you're a commuter, you've been there.  You're on-time and feelin' fine, then end up stopping at EVERY FRICKIN' HOUSE on a 10-mile stretch, thusly arriving at destination about 30 minutes late.  Or, you're running late in the first place;  you jump into your vehicle, grind into gear and haul arse only to see those dreaded blinky lights in the distance.  Many times I've had to get a hold of myself as I realized the kiddos sitting in the very back of the bus with their fresh young faces plastered to the back windshield could probably decipher my foul language through the glass.  (Not a pretty sight.) 

Last year, I found myself in just such a situation when I looked to my right to see a dad-like guy waiting with his daughter-type kids for the bus.  The flashy yellows blinked, then changed to red.  I stopped, grumbling under my breath, and mentally swallowed the vile language I could feel welling up from my diaphragm.  Dad-guy was a big, scruffy bearded man...tall, broad, and constructiony with workboots and Carhartt attire.  He hugged and kissed the first girl who ran up to the bus and climbed on.  The second girl reached up for a hug and got heartily squeezed.  The second girl ran after the first girl, stopped at the door of the bus and stopped.  Without pausing, second girl wheeled around and bolted back for a second round of squeezing from dad-guy.  Dad-guy squeezed appropriately, smiled really big at her and the other girl who was waving from the window and blew kisses as the red flashy lights stopped and the bus moved forward.

I don't get mad anymore when I get stuck behind school buses.  Especially when I get to watch nice people sending their kids off into the big, bad, crazy world with squeezie hugs and blown kisses.