Bus Ride

Eli had his first ride in a school bus yesterday. We went w/ Jonny & his 7th grade baseball team on their away-game to Woodburn. Eli loves buses. There is a bus that parks outside our apartment balcony every morning @ 8am, & Eli knows that the beeping means the bus is here & backing into its spot. He gets so excited, says, "BUS!" & runs to the window to watch. When its warm enough I let him out & he says hi to the bus driver. So anyway, I mention that b/c getting to ride on a bus was a big deal for Eli. :)

Once we got on the bus w/ all the middle school kids Eli was totally entertained. He was a perfect angel the whole ride b/c he just watched all the kids. On the way home he played peek-a-boo w/ the kids & gave high fives for about ten minutes; then he conked out in Jonny's arms. You'd think it was the 7th graders first time being on a bus, too! The girls' baseball team was riding too, so there was lots of adrenaline, excitement & pre-teen hormones floating around. And my oh my was there middle school drama!

Jonny is smart & doesn't let the boys & girls sit together. The girls sit in the front w/ their coach & he leaves two empty seats right in the middle separating the boys & girls. Then he sits in the next seat, followed by all the boys. He thinks this keeps them out of trouble & creates less drama. After my experience yesterday, I totally agree. I'm pretty naive' about what can go on on school bus trips, probably b/c I quit all my sports after 8th grade & during middle school I don't remember traveling w/ boys. Jonny, however, remembers that kids are up to no good when the adult chaperons are not paying any attention. He recalls that most of his out of town trips on the bus included a coach or two on the bus- but always sitting up at the very front of the bus while the kids were allowed to sit wherever, even after dark- completely unsupervised! Hello! What are these adults thinking!? They're just giving the teenagers a ticket to sin. Why is it not common knowledge that boys & girls (especially high schoolers) should not be left alone in the dark, unsupervised? It would be like me giving Eli a box of matches & trusting that he won't give into the temptation to play w/ them. The same principle applies- they need to be protected from danger! Well, even though most coaches or teachers are ignorant of this or just don't care, Jonny does. He is planning to coach high school soccer in the fall & they have a lot of late night away games. He is going to be very strict about bus rules, & he won't be a sleeping coach oblivious to what's going on. As a parent, I would very much appreciate this kind of supervision over my teenager.

After my experience w/ these kids yesterday I could feel myself start to panic a little about my boys & their continual loss of innocence as they get older. Its going to happen- there is nothing I can do about it. Eli already watches older toddlers & tries to copy what they do. I was just looking at these punk kids (no, a lot of them were good kids) thinking, is this what my sweet little babies are going to turn into!? :( Shoving them out in the world wouldn't be good for them, but I can't shelter them in a box their whole lives either. I don't necessarily know that home school, private school, or public school is always the better choice either. I have known people from all of these upbringings, & some have remained pure while others have fallen head over heels into sin. I guess the only thing we can do is raise our kids in the Lord. And continually pray that He will protect them, give them a heart that is sensitive to His & ask for discernment as to when to give our kids freedom & when to lay down the restrictions. :)

Oh, boy! That was a long post! I don't get out of the house much, so a new experience always gets me thinking. I hope I don't come across as a freaked out over protective parent- who knows, maybe I am?