He did it!

We lost the battle, and FreezeFoe is not to be-well not with Quirky, anyway. But, today was a great day nonetheless. “How so?” you ask. “Hadn’t you put all your hopes and dreams into that drink thing only to be told that your idea sucks and that you should keep your day job-if only you had one?” Well, my day job is motherhood at the moment, and I certainly don’t mind keeping it. Now that the users at Quirky have forsaken the invention that would save dinner parties around the globe from disaster, we turn to the bigger, better more wonderful achievements of the day. We turn to Asher’s first solo trip on the bus, today, the 24th of September 2009.

Until this very day, I have been taking Asher to the bus stop, escorting him on to the bus, driving ahead of the bus in order to meet him at school as he debarked from the bus, taking him to class line-up on the blacktop and waiting with him until the morning bell rang. I said I wouldn’t do it. I said I was going to drop him in the water and let him flail and choke until he could swim. I lied. I couldn’t do it. Instead, Asher and I agreed on a plan of attack. Every day, Asher met a new challenge during his journey which would eventually prepare him for his solo flight today.

One day’s challenge meant that Asher had to get on the bus without my help. Another day, I followed him out of the bus and around the school as he guided me to his place in line. Then there was the day I met him at the half-way mark between bus and blacktop as opposed to meeting him at the bus. We hung the calendar on the wall and marked off each successful day. We counted the days until the day with the big bus drawn on it.

The penultimate challenge was to stand across the street and watch from a distance as Asher walked himself to his line. He stopped once to look for me and found me waving my hand wildly. He waved back with his entire arm, turned and found his line. There were no tears. He didn’t try to run. I knew he didn’t need me, and I knew that from that day forward, my presence would only be a distraction.

A small part of me will miss what was my morning routine. The teachers greeted me as I took my place amongst them waiting for the buses to arrive. I exchanged waves with some of the children I knew from Asher’s pre-school. Some of his bus mates started to recognize me. “HI ASHER’S MOMMY!!!” one enthusiastic boy yelled each morning. “Who’s that boy, Asher?” “Which one?” “The one that just yelled, ‘Hi Asher’s Mommy’.” Asher shrugged and barelled on.

Today, he got on that bus. There was a bit of protesting and whining as the bus doors swung open welcoming Asher to his new independence. I nudged him gently up the steps. The doors closed and shut me out. He was on his own.

I was the first parent at the bus stop this afternoon. I couldn’t wait to congratulate Asher for a job well done. When he got off that bus, I grabbed his shoulders and shook him (gently, of course) and shouted, “YOU DID IT!! YOU DID IT!! AREN’T YOU PROUD?” He was.

And so, I am not bitter that Quirky spurned my get-out-of-work scheme (though I’m absolutely convinced that voting was fixed). Instead, I can sleep tonight knowing that my dear Asher, my big bundle of anxiety packed tightly into the body of a 5 and 5/6th year old, has overcome his fear of the bus. Now we can actually turn our attention to Levi who screams every morning, “NO GO TO SCHOOL!! ONLY ASHER GO TO SCHOOL!! NO LEVI!! NO SCHOOL!!” Why can’t we have one easy child?