Devon went to school for a 15 minute Meet and Greet on Tuesday. That, of course, went very well with me at his side. Thursday was his first official day of school. He woke yesterday morning and I could tell right away that he was having some anxiety. He was grumpy and irritable and touchy. It wasn't long before he started vocalizing his concerns. "I don't WANT to ride the bus!" "Why can't you be my teacher Mom?" "I want you to take me to school!" Since he's in the afternoon class I had to listen to this all morning. I tried to talk with him about his fears, without making them into a big deal. We looked at pictures of Kennedy getting off the bus after her first day of school. We looked at pictures of Devon when he was a baby and talked about how big he's gotten. Lincoln came home at lunch time so he could see him off as well. We were told the bus would come sometime between 11:30 and 12:00. So at 11:30 we were out on the porch in the cold drizzly rain watching for it.
We waited and waited and waited. I began to doubt myself. Was there another phone call I was supposed to make to ensure the bus would stop here? Should I have called the bus company to confirm? It's very confusing that the Bus Company is apparently a separate entity from the school. I had communicated with the school about the bus but not with the bus folks. When I called the B.C. to find out about the time for pick up I didn't give them my name or address so being given a time didn't mean anything. His class starts at 12:15 so at 12:05 Lincoln and I determined we'd better just bring him to school and forget the bus for day 1. Devon, however, who was obviously struggling with desperately wanting to ride a bus but being terrified to do it, did NOT want to go with Lincoln. "But I want to ride the bus!"
We agreed to wait a few more minutes and just when we were ready to bag it the bus showed up. Devon took one look, panicked, and ran for the house. I followed him back up the sidewalk to the porch, reassuring him that we would get on the bus with him and help him find his seat. Meanwhile, he was running ahead of me, tipping over chairs and tables behind him to slow me down. Little bugger isn't as smart as he thinks he is because he put himself into a corner. I put my arms around him and told him I'd carry him to the bus. He was dead weight, however, so Lincoln had to carry him. Right there in the front seat was a neighbor friend of his. We asked her if Devon could sit with her and she smiled and moved over for him. Once he was on the bus he was pleased to be there, though still a bit uncertain. He didn't cry or make any attempt to get back off the bus. I snapped a quick picture
and off he went. Lincoln asked me if I wanted him to follow the bus to school to make sure he was OK. I knew that would only add to the problem. He was off and if anything came up that they couldn't handle they would let us know. At the end of the day the only report I got from him was "I had a great day at school!" as he came in the door. I couldn't get any further details out of him. Today he was still a little nervous about actually getting on the bus, he held my hand and had that telltale look in his eye, but he got on by himself and sat with Sydney. He even posed for a picture on the steps of the bus.
What a big boy. I'd like to say that I miss him terribly but really he was so ready to be out of the house getting some outside stimulation. When he's here he's just looking for ways to irritate his younger brother and sister. So I like having a few hours in the day to work up to missing him!
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