Bus Problems

I hurried home after work to pick up Shane for soccer practice. I expected to hit the road quickly, but was wrong: Carrie received a voicemail from Shane's bus driver.

A very frustrated and annoyed voicemail.

Shane had been a turd in the afternoons. He apparently wasn't paying attention for when it's his time to get off and when it was time to leave it was all theatrics. There were days he was upside down in his seat with his feet in the air, etc, etc.

She sounded like someone who had been holding back her frustration and finally burst.

And the truth is, it all sounded like stuff Shane would do.

Carrie was pissed.

I was upset, too, except for one anecdote. The bus driver said that one day, I was out at the stop with Shane and he walked up to the still moving bus and mimed hitting his head on the door. She said that I watched and laughed. Were "too close to the road" and were "supposed to be at least 10 feet back and not approach the bus until it was fully stopped," etc.

If you've seen me with Shane, I think you'd find that out of character. 

There were shades of truth, though. The bus was basically stopped when he slipped his shoulder out from under my hand. He approached quickly and did put his hands on the door before it fully opened. I said, "Knock it off!" and he looked back at me before hopping on. I gave what I thought was an apologetic and somewhat sheepish smile.

Shane wanted to argue the details. He wanted my help, because he knew I wouldn't agree with parts of what I was involved in.

He didn't get it. I told him that while I didn't agree with every detail, there were enough to details right to explain why the bus driver felt as upset and frustrated as she did. He needed to change something.

So.....Shane got grounded. No soccer practice, no electronics, and a grumpy mom for the night. Carrie called the driver back, got the voicemail, and left an apology (Shane had to contribute).

Thankfully for the driver, there was no school Friday. Shane was going to go out of town, too, so she'd get a week break! That should allow her patience meter for the kid to recharge and we'll make sure he says something apologetic when he does ride again.