School... school.... school... schooo-oool!!

On the first day of school, we're eager little learners....

Had to quote my beloved Animaniacs.

Anyway, the event that NO ONE guessed (should I take offense at that, or do you guys have just as many books as I), was in fact, the first day of school. Not my birthday, which it also was (Thanks for the card, Heather!). My plan was to have a most adorable photo of my child on her way to her very first day of school, however...

I lost my camera.

Somewhere in the melee of the end of school, I set my camera down and I can't remember where I put it. I told you we'd be back to shallow Danica in no time.

See, I'd had it all planned. I was going to drop off B, take some pics, try not to cry, go home, relax, pick B up from the bus stop, take her picture getting off the bus for the first time, and post it all with my very clever Animaniacs title. However, what happened was this:

Dropped off B, took pictures, did NOT cry, went home, put K down for a nap, had some blissful, amazing "ME" time for a couple hours, got K up, walked to the bus stop, got camera ready, and then the kiddos got off the bus. My child was not on the bus.

However, I knew the bus driver. That Man's ex wife's sister in law. I kid you not. For a big city, it certainly is incestuous. However, she is a very sweet lady, and I know her, so I asked, "Have you seen my kid?" And she says, "OH! I didn't know she was supposed to ride my bus." Lovely. Then I notice the number on the bus. NOT the number I was given at registration for my kid. I go home, call the school, and they say, "Oh, we have a lot of busses that drop kids off in your area. Wait and see if your kid is on one of them." Great advice, since it's not THEIR kid.

I head back to the stop, and run into another mother who has lost her child. She tells me, "yeah, my other kids told me that their bus number changed, but not all the kids were told, so I'm missing one." Like, can I just ask, how do you LOSE a bunch of kids? I told her what the school told me and we walked to the bus stop together-getting there just as another bus stops there, and lo and behold, MY kid gets off. I was so glad they hadn't dropped her in Timbuktu that I forgot to take a picture. I let the kiddos hang out for a bit, when later on, about a block away, ANOTHER bus comes and drops off a slew of kids. Neighbor lady's kid was on that bus.

So today, we marched into the office and I was prepared to give the office lady the what-for, but she is also a very nice lady, and when we perused the bus schedule, she showed me how they marked the stops. Several busses DO go in my area, but only one stops at my particular stop. AKA the WRONG bus. AKA the bus my child did NOT get on. AKA the reason my child's anxiety over riding a bus all by herself was not for nothing. AKA the reason that the photo of her very first bus ride, which can never be taken again, does not exist.

And somewhere, in all that mess, I set my camera down.

While I have yet to discern the location of my camera, I am most overjoyed to report that I DO know the correct bus for my child, she did get on it today, and I am quite confident that she will be continue to ride that bus in the future. So long as she doesn't violate the Code of Conduct she brought home today-which would usually be an easy task, however, she has informed me of all the ways her best friend, the world's most obnoxious second-grader, violated those same rules today.

Why do I think that having a child embarking on this beautiful journey will not be the peaceful existence I thought I was looking forward to?

Speaking of not-so-peaceful peaceful existences, here's a fun photo I want to share of our very own Knob. He's the second one from the left, standing next to the kid with crutches. *sigh* I remember the drama of trying to get HIM on the right bus. Of course, he was a little older at the time, but still...