Chasing the bus

What with the first day 'n all, everyone was a bit slow off the mark, and getting Toby and Alex to their school bus was looking tight.  I suspect that the bus company on the other hand, was looking to have a good start to the year and was running rigorously to the timetable, taking away our usual buffer of tardiness.

Our routine is to drive to the Wadestown bus stop, then leave the car outside the library and walk or cycle the rest of the way.  But early on I decided that we should go for a bus stop closer to town to give us a bit more leeway.  We followed a very slow Yaris on the way down the hill - but I couldn't complain because the Yaris also seemed to have a target on its front, with crazy drivers repeatedly hurtling at it on the wrong side of the road.  Alas, though, as we reached the stop at the bottom of the hill, we sighted the bus collecting the last of its passengers and pulling away.  "Any more stops, Toby?"  "Yes, one more outside Wellington Girls, in a couple of blocks!"  The race was on.  Traffic was dense, and being fed by offramps from the motorway.  But I weaved and juggled and got to within 2 cars of the bus as it pulled over for the last time.  Toby and Alex were primed and ready, and leapt from the car even before I finished moving.  But disaster!  There was just one passenger to collect.  They were on the bus quick-smart and the bus was pulling away within seconds of stopping.

So that was that.  We were off to Mirimar.

I think most other parents were either taking their little darlings to school on their first day, or had also missed the bus, because there were hundreds of cars at school.  And of course I was a 'driving to school' acolyte.  So I managed to pull into the wrong driveway and create a little bit of havoc.  Turns out the entrance you use outside of peak time is where the buses drop children off - and the gate is only wide enough for entry, or exit, but not both at the same time.  Oh well.  I've created far worse chaos driving Der Bus through villages in Italy, so not a problem.

So all's well that ends well - I'm at work, Toby and Alex are at school, the coffee is up to its adequate standard, and the sun is beaming in.  Yay!