Yesterday, October 3, was my sister Liz's birthday. I won't give away her age just in case she doesn't want you to know. That's not important anyway. What's important is that she is my sister and I love her. (I wish I could download a picture of her for you all to see the birthday girl, but I just haven't had much success with this program lately! Open her link to the left to see a great picture of her!)
Liz and I are exactly one year and fifteen days apart. When we were younger, I guess Mom found it easier to dress Liz, Karen and me alike and gave us all the same haircuts. This was easy on Mom, but hard on the general public. Because the three of us were so close in age, at times we even looked as if some of us might be twins or even triplets. We became known simply as "The Schley Girls." Most people didn't know our individual names. They just knew that we were one of the Schley girls. Even our family referred to us as "the girls." It was always "the girls and Roger." Now that we are older, we don't look alike at all and there are definitely differences between the three of us. The way that people can tell us apart now is by our last names and by the fact that we live in three different countries. They just need to ask us who we married and where we're living now and they know which one we are. You may laugh ... but it's true!
Since Liz was the oldest, she was usually first in everything. I wasn't always thrilled with that in my youth because I felt that she got the better end of the deal. As we matured and were able to actually discuss this sibling hierarchy, I came to discover that it wasn't always thought of as a privilege for her. I wish I would have known that at the time! It would have saved me a lot of worthless jealousy! Now as an adult, I am so thankful that Liz went first in a lot of things because she became a true role model for me. I value Liz's opinion on just about everything! She's the one that I call on when I need a sound opinion on a parenting issue, a godly woman's perspective or even just a decorating tip here and there! What would I do without her?!
I told Liz yesterday on her birthday that she is a beautiful woman inside and out and being a year older just adds to her beauty. I honestly mean that. Her heart's desire is to become as much like Jesus as she can and that just makes her beauty more obvious. What better role model can I have in a big sister?
Liz, I thank God that He put us in the same family and that you have had such an impact on my life. Not everyone can have such a special older sister, but I know that you are carrying out that role with so many women anyway. Thank you for touching my life in ways that you don't even know. I love you and I wish you a wonderful year full of God's blessings! Happy Birthday, Liz!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Stephen's Compliment
Stephen gave me a HUGE compliment today. While he was eating his snack and I was preparing supper, I told him that I was so glad that God put us both in the same family. He asked his usual question, "How come?" So I told him it was because I loved him so much and I thought he was such a smart boy and that I was proud of him for being such a good brother and friend, etc. He gave me such a sweet compliment then! He said, "Mommy, I love you so much that I could love you for 100 days and 100 weeks without stopping!" (Can you tell they've been talking about 100's in school this week?! :) Now, in the scope of a lifetime, that's not a lot of time, but coming from a four-and-a-half-year-old boy, that's an entire lifetime! I just pray that he'll remember that comment when he's a teenager and not so sure about wanting to love me all those days and weeks without stopping! In the meantime, I'm still glowing from his childlike compliment to his mommy!
We Are Amazing!
Sunday night I was sitting in the babyroom at church talking with a few other mothers while our kids were playing. After listening to stories about their daily activities, I was amazed. I told them that they would probably never hear this from their children, and they may not even hear it fully from their husbands, but they are amazing women! We all are! They laughed and almost brushed off that comment, but then they started to agree. We ARE amazing!
As mothers and wives we have so many things on the go all the time and we are quite amazing, if you think about it. We not only have to think for ourselves, but we have to think for everyone else in our families. We have to be responsible for feeding, for clothing, for reminding about bathroom breaks, for teaching, for modeling, for creating environment, etc, etc, etc. We are amazing! How can we do all this?! God sure gave us an incredible abilitiy to multitask and to think ahead and plan and everything else that we have to do as mothers.
I'm not trying to feed on pride here or anything, but there are times when I am quite pleased with what I've accomplished. When I've gone to the store and found a super deal and saved our family money. Or when I needed to be resourceful when unexpected guests dropped by and I hadn't been grocery shopping yet that week. I knew I didn't have much to serve, but God gave that inspiration to whip up something at the last minute that made it look like I was just waiting for someone to drop by. Or how about when I was able to trade something we didn't need with someone who had something we had been looking for and we didn't have to spend a cent! I love when I am totally overwhelmed with tasks and I can get right down to business and get so much accomplished in a short amount of time. What a sense of accomplishment!
To all my fellow-mothers out there: we are amazing! God has given us so much to work with and He is always there to get us through the next briar patch of life. I feel so special when I think about how He created me to be able to do all this. Now I just need to remember to keep going back to Him when I get overwhelmed and don't know what to do next. He'll point me in the right direction because He wants me to succeed. He thinks I'm amazing, too!
Moms, we ARE amazing! Don't let anyone or anything try to convince you otherwise. We are amazing!
As mothers and wives we have so many things on the go all the time and we are quite amazing, if you think about it. We not only have to think for ourselves, but we have to think for everyone else in our families. We have to be responsible for feeding, for clothing, for reminding about bathroom breaks, for teaching, for modeling, for creating environment, etc, etc, etc. We are amazing! How can we do all this?! God sure gave us an incredible abilitiy to multitask and to think ahead and plan and everything else that we have to do as mothers.
I'm not trying to feed on pride here or anything, but there are times when I am quite pleased with what I've accomplished. When I've gone to the store and found a super deal and saved our family money. Or when I needed to be resourceful when unexpected guests dropped by and I hadn't been grocery shopping yet that week. I knew I didn't have much to serve, but God gave that inspiration to whip up something at the last minute that made it look like I was just waiting for someone to drop by. Or how about when I was able to trade something we didn't need with someone who had something we had been looking for and we didn't have to spend a cent! I love when I am totally overwhelmed with tasks and I can get right down to business and get so much accomplished in a short amount of time. What a sense of accomplishment!
To all my fellow-mothers out there: we are amazing! God has given us so much to work with and He is always there to get us through the next briar patch of life. I feel so special when I think about how He created me to be able to do all this. Now I just need to remember to keep going back to Him when I get overwhelmed and don't know what to do next. He'll point me in the right direction because He wants me to succeed. He thinks I'm amazing, too!
Moms, we ARE amazing! Don't let anyone or anything try to convince you otherwise. We are amazing!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Grandpa's Hands
When Grandpa turned 90, Aunt Peg asked all of us to write something about his hands and she compiled them all and put them in a book. That may seem like a strange theme for a book honoring someone's 90th birthday, but if you really knew Grandpa, it wouldn't surprise you at all! Grandpa spoke with his hands. He loved with his hands. He prayed with his hands. He worked with his hands. His hands were hard and calloused and thick. You could tell that they had done their fair share and more of work. Looking at them for the first time, one would not likely describe them as tender or gentle, but that person probably had not seen Grandpa transplant a pepper plant or pat Corky's head. That person probably never experienced a deep conversation with Grandpa where he would put one hand on their back and use the other hand to generate gestures to emphasize his point. That person probably never watched him brush his toast crumbs into a miniature little pile on the table in front of his plate. (Did you ever notice that habit of his? He had such a method to it! He would scoop up all the crumbs into a pile, tap his hand on the table to shake it all off and then he'd start all over again. All the while he would be sucking on his toothpick making those little sucking noises to get everything out of his teeth! :)
Yesterday I looked up my contribution to Grandpa's Hands book and I would like to share it here. I'm sure many of you have your own memories of Grandpa's hands. These are a few of mine.
That big, hard finger that was caught in the corn shucker sure kept me quiet during church. I can still remember sitting in the old Barberton church next to you one Sunday night during singing. I was probably only about 3 or 4 years old. I don’t know what I was doing (most likely playing around or not sitting still), but all of a sudden I felt the WHACK! on my head! That disciplinary finger of yours made contact with the top of my head and I settled down immediately! I learned to have great respect for that finger of yours!
I have a memory of sitting at your kitchen table after finishing a meal and seeing you with your elbows propped on the table and your fingertips tapping each other as you were telling us stories. I don’t know why that memory has stayed so many years, but even now, you will sit the same way at the end of a meal as you enjoy visiting with whoever might happen to be there sharing your meal with you, or leaning on your hands looking out the window at your flowers and trees.
Your hands are always lifting your hat and brushing your forehead of the sweat of your labors. Your hands work long and hard, yet they also give you relief as you lift your hat and refresh your head. This is also a memory that will always remain with me.
Your hands have also felt pain. I remember when you cut your hand and saw something sticking out of the cut, so you took some scissors and cut that thing off! You found out very quickly that “that thing” was a nerve! Only you would try to “fix” your hand like that by yourself!
Your hands also taught me how to pull weeds around pepper plants, how to pick plums off of a tree, how to carefully pick up chestnut burrs and put them in a pile. Your hands taught me how to push dirt around a new plant, how to tenderly hold a heavy vine full of grapes, how to take a rock out of the garden and throw it with all your might into the trees. Your hands have shown me how to love the ground that God has given to us to enjoy gardening.
I see you put your hands on someone’s back as you lean close to them to listen or to speak with them. The human touch that you give when you counsel someone tells them that you are really listening and that you care enough about them to touch them with your solid hands.
Your hands are the ones that held mine as you lowered me into the baptismal in East Akron in June of 1983. The picture of your hands holding mine is as clear as day because that was such a monumental day in my life. Your hands are the ones that rested on my head that afternoon as you prayed for me, that I would be sealed with the Holy Spirit and that I would grow in the Lord. Your hands had a part in blessing me that day.
Grandpa, I’m sure that your hands have been clasped together many times praying for my mom, for my parents and for myself. Thank you for praying for your future generations and for using your hands to teach us so many things. May God continue to bless your hands because you use them for Him!
Yesterday I looked up my contribution to Grandpa's Hands book and I would like to share it here. I'm sure many of you have your own memories of Grandpa's hands. These are a few of mine.
That big, hard finger that was caught in the corn shucker sure kept me quiet during church. I can still remember sitting in the old Barberton church next to you one Sunday night during singing. I was probably only about 3 or 4 years old. I don’t know what I was doing (most likely playing around or not sitting still), but all of a sudden I felt the WHACK! on my head! That disciplinary finger of yours made contact with the top of my head and I settled down immediately! I learned to have great respect for that finger of yours!
I have a memory of sitting at your kitchen table after finishing a meal and seeing you with your elbows propped on the table and your fingertips tapping each other as you were telling us stories. I don’t know why that memory has stayed so many years, but even now, you will sit the same way at the end of a meal as you enjoy visiting with whoever might happen to be there sharing your meal with you, or leaning on your hands looking out the window at your flowers and trees.
Your hands are always lifting your hat and brushing your forehead of the sweat of your labors. Your hands work long and hard, yet they also give you relief as you lift your hat and refresh your head. This is also a memory that will always remain with me.
Your hands have also felt pain. I remember when you cut your hand and saw something sticking out of the cut, so you took some scissors and cut that thing off! You found out very quickly that “that thing” was a nerve! Only you would try to “fix” your hand like that by yourself!
Your hands also taught me how to pull weeds around pepper plants, how to pick plums off of a tree, how to carefully pick up chestnut burrs and put them in a pile. Your hands taught me how to push dirt around a new plant, how to tenderly hold a heavy vine full of grapes, how to take a rock out of the garden and throw it with all your might into the trees. Your hands have shown me how to love the ground that God has given to us to enjoy gardening.
I see you put your hands on someone’s back as you lean close to them to listen or to speak with them. The human touch that you give when you counsel someone tells them that you are really listening and that you care enough about them to touch them with your solid hands.
Your hands are the ones that held mine as you lowered me into the baptismal in East Akron in June of 1983. The picture of your hands holding mine is as clear as day because that was such a monumental day in my life. Your hands are the ones that rested on my head that afternoon as you prayed for me, that I would be sealed with the Holy Spirit and that I would grow in the Lord. Your hands had a part in blessing me that day.
Grandpa, I’m sure that your hands have been clasped together many times praying for my mom, for my parents and for myself. Thank you for praying for your future generations and for using your hands to teach us so many things. May God continue to bless your hands because you use them for Him!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Ups and Downs of Emotions
Today is a very bittersweet day for me. My emotions are so twisted around I just don't even know what to think anymore. Today was supposed to be a day of rejoicing and excitement as we would be experiencing our first day of worship in our new church building! We had talked about it for months and weeks and finally days! The boys have been praying and thanking Jesus for the workers who were building the church. We were talking each other through the day: where we would play in the babyroom during Bible Class, where the boys would be singing before Sunday School, where their new classes would be, where Daddy and Mommy and Christopher would be in the new sanctuary, etc. They even talked about where we would park the van and go to the bathroom! They were that excited! We ALL were!
But then this morning, I read an e-mail from Mom. "Hi all, Donna just called and said when she got there this AM that Grandpa had passed away.We're on our way now.Talk to you later.Love Mom" What?! Did I read that right?! Grandpa?! But Grandpa was a piller! Grandpa was constant! Grandpa was solid! Grandpa was always there as the support for our family. He was gone?! I was just getting ready to call Mom's cell phone when she called here and we just cried together. All of us knew that Grandpa would be lonely without Grandma, but I think that we all kind of hoped he could stay here a bit longer. After Fred let me cry on him this morning, we sat down with the boys who were watching this whole scene unfold. We talked about how much we'll miss Grandpa, but now he was with Jesus, right where he wanted to be! We assured the boys that our tears were also happy tears because we were excited for Grandpa, although we were sad to think we wouldn't be able to talk to him or see him anymore.
As I was sitting in our new and beautiful sanctuary this morning singing "Thank Ye The Lord", I let my emotions take over. Everyone else in that huge sanctuary was singing their thanks to the Lord for what He's given us in a new church building, but I had to think about how thankful I was that Grandpa now had his greatest desire fulfilled - to be in the presence of the Lord! We had talked about the construction of the new church and he talked to me about what it was like to build the church in Norton. We had a connection there. And now here I was sitting in our brand new church, and I couldn't even tell Grandpa what it was like. That's ok. I'm sure he's listening and even participating in an even greater congregation of those washed by the blood of the Lamb! His place of worship is even more beautiful and breathtaking than what we can imagine!
Someone asked me today what I would miss most about my grandpa. To all my siblings and cousins, this is for your benefit. :) I answered that I would miss his "finger." I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Surely I couldn't have been the only one who experienced "the finger" on top of the head for misbehaving in church! Grandpa had a finger caught in a corn shucker when he was a child. He lost the tip of his finger and it eventually became a nice, hard disciplining tool when a misbehaving child needed a good thunk on the head. I haven't felt that thunk for probably 35 years, but trust me! When you got that finger on your head, it was a hard thing to forget!
Yes, I will miss Grandpa terribly. To whom will I be able to ask all my gardening questions?! With whom can I share my dismay at having to pay hard earned money for tasteless peppers or corn on the cob from a store when I know that Grandpa had had bounty to share with everyone? Who will share with us the stories of those whose lives he touched in simple, but real ways? Several people told me today that they will always remember him for his down-to-earth sermons and his ability to preach as if he were sitting next to them having a one-on-one conversation. Someone else also commented that Grandpa must have been very obedient in his childhood for God to bless him with such a long life. I don't know what he was like as a child, and I think he was probably selective in what he shared with us (ha ha), but yes. Giving his life to the Lord in his youth had blessed him with many years!
So my heart has gone up and down all day today. I'm sad that the familiarity of our old church building is now a thing of the past, but I'm thrilled that Grandpa's familiarity with this world is over! I'm so happy to be worshipping in a new church building, but I'm sad that my grandpa will no longer be here on earth. Wow. Emotions can really throw you for a loop, but that's why we need to rely on the facts! Grandpa is now worshipping in HIS new sanctuary! The one in front of the Lamb of God, Himself! You've got it better than us, Grandpa! Praise God in HIS sanctuary, Hallelujah, AMEN!
(Unfortunately, tonight I am not able to add any pictures to this entry for some reason. Please see my sister, Liz's entry for a beautiful picture of Grandpa!)
But then this morning, I read an e-mail from Mom. "Hi all, Donna just called and said when she got there this AM that Grandpa had passed away.We're on our way now.Talk to you later.Love Mom" What?! Did I read that right?! Grandpa?! But Grandpa was a piller! Grandpa was constant! Grandpa was solid! Grandpa was always there as the support for our family. He was gone?! I was just getting ready to call Mom's cell phone when she called here and we just cried together. All of us knew that Grandpa would be lonely without Grandma, but I think that we all kind of hoped he could stay here a bit longer. After Fred let me cry on him this morning, we sat down with the boys who were watching this whole scene unfold. We talked about how much we'll miss Grandpa, but now he was with Jesus, right where he wanted to be! We assured the boys that our tears were also happy tears because we were excited for Grandpa, although we were sad to think we wouldn't be able to talk to him or see him anymore.
As I was sitting in our new and beautiful sanctuary this morning singing "Thank Ye The Lord", I let my emotions take over. Everyone else in that huge sanctuary was singing their thanks to the Lord for what He's given us in a new church building, but I had to think about how thankful I was that Grandpa now had his greatest desire fulfilled - to be in the presence of the Lord! We had talked about the construction of the new church and he talked to me about what it was like to build the church in Norton. We had a connection there. And now here I was sitting in our brand new church, and I couldn't even tell Grandpa what it was like. That's ok. I'm sure he's listening and even participating in an even greater congregation of those washed by the blood of the Lamb! His place of worship is even more beautiful and breathtaking than what we can imagine!
Someone asked me today what I would miss most about my grandpa. To all my siblings and cousins, this is for your benefit. :) I answered that I would miss his "finger." I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Surely I couldn't have been the only one who experienced "the finger" on top of the head for misbehaving in church! Grandpa had a finger caught in a corn shucker when he was a child. He lost the tip of his finger and it eventually became a nice, hard disciplining tool when a misbehaving child needed a good thunk on the head. I haven't felt that thunk for probably 35 years, but trust me! When you got that finger on your head, it was a hard thing to forget!
Yes, I will miss Grandpa terribly. To whom will I be able to ask all my gardening questions?! With whom can I share my dismay at having to pay hard earned money for tasteless peppers or corn on the cob from a store when I know that Grandpa had had bounty to share with everyone? Who will share with us the stories of those whose lives he touched in simple, but real ways? Several people told me today that they will always remember him for his down-to-earth sermons and his ability to preach as if he were sitting next to them having a one-on-one conversation. Someone else also commented that Grandpa must have been very obedient in his childhood for God to bless him with such a long life. I don't know what he was like as a child, and I think he was probably selective in what he shared with us (ha ha), but yes. Giving his life to the Lord in his youth had blessed him with many years!
So my heart has gone up and down all day today. I'm sad that the familiarity of our old church building is now a thing of the past, but I'm thrilled that Grandpa's familiarity with this world is over! I'm so happy to be worshipping in a new church building, but I'm sad that my grandpa will no longer be here on earth. Wow. Emotions can really throw you for a loop, but that's why we need to rely on the facts! Grandpa is now worshipping in HIS new sanctuary! The one in front of the Lamb of God, Himself! You've got it better than us, Grandpa! Praise God in HIS sanctuary, Hallelujah, AMEN!
(Unfortunately, tonight I am not able to add any pictures to this entry for some reason. Please see my sister, Liz's entry for a beautiful picture of Grandpa!)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Buses ... Grrrrrr
This is only the fourth day that Stephen has ridden the bus to and from school and I'm so frustrated I can't believe it! This bus system here is NOTHING like good old Chippewa Local Schools where you have the same bus driver year after year and the same memorable bus number to worry about (Like Mrs. Keller driving Bus 12 for who knows how many years, and that was only after Mrs. Jarrett retired from Bus 4 and Jessie left number 14!). No. Here we have several bus lines that are hired to take the children to and from school. Their numbers are confusing (PO53 - Red butterfly to school and PS169 - Black Horse on the way home). There are public and Catholic school busses that stop at the same bus stops so you have to know your number and bus line. They are not necessarily the same bus lines. They seem to never be the same bus driver!!! They are NEVER on a consistent schedule!
Let me explain my frustration. At our orientation meeting with the teacher during the first week of school, she told me that she was checking on Stephen's bus situation on the way home. Seems he was on a bus route that was unfamiliar to the rest of the school and was actually the only one scheduled to ride this particular bus on this particular bus line. Clue number one that we will be having issues! They did some research and found out that for some reason, they had him being bussed to a completely different neighborhood not even within this school's boundaries all by himself! I'm not sure where they were going to drop him off since there's only ONE 30 Crest Haven Street in Kitchener! Not to worry. That problem was resolved before his first bus ride home.
Second clue that there would be issues: Stephen's original drop off time was indicated to be 12:25. School lets out at 11:40. We only live about seven miles from school. Where is the bus going during that time?! No one is quite sure. Day 1, I wait for the bus at 12:25 down the street and around the corner at the bus stop. The bus arrives around 12:40. Day 2, I wait at the same location, but arrive a bit earlier because we are told it would be earlier. Bus arrives at 12:30. The unknown driver shouts to us that it will be 12:11 from now on. Ok. That's a big difference, but I accept that. I find a paper in Stephen's backpack telling us parents that the bus schedule has indeed changed and his drop off time will now be at 12:11 starting Tuesday (day 4). Day 3, I wait at the bus stop at 12:20 and Stephen comes at 12:25. Perfect! But then I get a phone call from the transportation department of the school district saying that Stephen's drop off time will now officially be at 12:25, despite the previous day's letter saying that it was to change to 12:11. I call this morning (day 4) to make sure I know what's going on. I am told to disregard the letter and follow the original time schedule. Stephen will be dropped off at 12:25.
Sigh. This is where I am totally frustrated. Because we had plenty of time, I put Christopher in his stroller and got Timothy's shoes on him and we went the opposite direction out of the house down the next street to the mailbox first. We had plenty of time, so I decided to take advantage of it and get the mail first then go around the block to the bus stop. Well ... as we are still waaayyy down the street, I see the bus come barrelling around the corner and stop! It was only 12:06!!!!!! I grabbed Timothy's hand and started running as fast as I could. Timothy is screaming for me to stop running so I grabbed him and carried him as I tried to run and push the stroller. I don't know why I bothered. He was throwing a fit because he didn't want to be carried. Christopher was screaming because some maniac was pushing his stroller out of control. I was screaming just in case the other parents could hear me to ask the driver to wait.... but no. No one heard until it was too late. They didn't see me or hear me and the bus took off with Stephen still on it. If we aren't there to pick up our child, they have to take them back to the school and we have to go pick them up.
Well, I was pretty upset to say the least. I'm wheezing like crazy now trying to push the stroller uphill and drag Timothy at the same time, knowing it's a lost cause. The other parents see me at this point and they all start running after the bus waving their arms, but no luck. Thank the Lord, the bus goes around a crescent and ends up back at the mailbox where we had just been for another drop off so I knew that if I tried really hard, I could run like crazy back down the street and get to the mailbox before the bus did. As I'm running, I'm shouting at Timothy to go sit on our front steps when we pass our house. What a sweetheart! He did just what I asked. Another mom ran ahead of me since she didn't have a stroller to push, just two little kindergarten boys. She ran ahead with one boy and the other one stayed with Timothy while I pushed Christopher even faster and crazier down the hill now to the mailbox. I got to the end of our street (I still had another half a block to go to get to the bus stop) and decided I was just going to flag the driver down. I had run enough!
She did stop when she saw me standing in the middle of the road waving at her. She looked at me very quizzically and I panted heavily that I wanted to pick up Stephen who was supposed to be dropped off three stops previous. She looked very surprised and there was Stephen standing next to her trying not to cry. She said, "Well, I asked if there was anyone else that was supposed to get off there, but no one answered." Of course not! He's a little kid who is just obeying the adults around him! He didn't realize he was allowed to make that decision as to whether or not he should get off! Poor kid! He was so brave, but I could tell he wasn't quite sure what to think about all this. He never would have said a word, but would have dutifully ridden all the way back to school if I hadn't have been able to stop the bus!
So who knows what's going to happen now. When I called the bus garage today to confirm the drop off time of 12:25 (NOT 12:06!!), she told me that for now this is the time, but that it will be changing again. I'm not sure how much longer I can do this. Do you know how hard it is to entertain two little boys for a half an hour time span at a bus stop with nothing to do but wait?! They're not that patient! Thankfully the weather has been beautiful, but had it been raining, or worse yet, snowing, I would have been more than frustrated!
Oh, give me Chippewa's Mrs. Keller who would have sat there and waited for me because she would have known that I would be there! I hope I don't have any more days like today for a long, long time! If ever!
On the positive side: at least I got more than my normal exercise in today! :)
Let me explain my frustration. At our orientation meeting with the teacher during the first week of school, she told me that she was checking on Stephen's bus situation on the way home. Seems he was on a bus route that was unfamiliar to the rest of the school and was actually the only one scheduled to ride this particular bus on this particular bus line. Clue number one that we will be having issues! They did some research and found out that for some reason, they had him being bussed to a completely different neighborhood not even within this school's boundaries all by himself! I'm not sure where they were going to drop him off since there's only ONE 30 Crest Haven Street in Kitchener! Not to worry. That problem was resolved before his first bus ride home.
Second clue that there would be issues: Stephen's original drop off time was indicated to be 12:25. School lets out at 11:40. We only live about seven miles from school. Where is the bus going during that time?! No one is quite sure. Day 1, I wait for the bus at 12:25 down the street and around the corner at the bus stop. The bus arrives around 12:40. Day 2, I wait at the same location, but arrive a bit earlier because we are told it would be earlier. Bus arrives at 12:30. The unknown driver shouts to us that it will be 12:11 from now on. Ok. That's a big difference, but I accept that. I find a paper in Stephen's backpack telling us parents that the bus schedule has indeed changed and his drop off time will now be at 12:11 starting Tuesday (day 4). Day 3, I wait at the bus stop at 12:20 and Stephen comes at 12:25. Perfect! But then I get a phone call from the transportation department of the school district saying that Stephen's drop off time will now officially be at 12:25, despite the previous day's letter saying that it was to change to 12:11. I call this morning (day 4) to make sure I know what's going on. I am told to disregard the letter and follow the original time schedule. Stephen will be dropped off at 12:25.
Sigh. This is where I am totally frustrated. Because we had plenty of time, I put Christopher in his stroller and got Timothy's shoes on him and we went the opposite direction out of the house down the next street to the mailbox first. We had plenty of time, so I decided to take advantage of it and get the mail first then go around the block to the bus stop. Well ... as we are still waaayyy down the street, I see the bus come barrelling around the corner and stop! It was only 12:06!!!!!! I grabbed Timothy's hand and started running as fast as I could. Timothy is screaming for me to stop running so I grabbed him and carried him as I tried to run and push the stroller. I don't know why I bothered. He was throwing a fit because he didn't want to be carried. Christopher was screaming because some maniac was pushing his stroller out of control. I was screaming just in case the other parents could hear me to ask the driver to wait.... but no. No one heard until it was too late. They didn't see me or hear me and the bus took off with Stephen still on it. If we aren't there to pick up our child, they have to take them back to the school and we have to go pick them up.
Well, I was pretty upset to say the least. I'm wheezing like crazy now trying to push the stroller uphill and drag Timothy at the same time, knowing it's a lost cause. The other parents see me at this point and they all start running after the bus waving their arms, but no luck. Thank the Lord, the bus goes around a crescent and ends up back at the mailbox where we had just been for another drop off so I knew that if I tried really hard, I could run like crazy back down the street and get to the mailbox before the bus did. As I'm running, I'm shouting at Timothy to go sit on our front steps when we pass our house. What a sweetheart! He did just what I asked. Another mom ran ahead of me since she didn't have a stroller to push, just two little kindergarten boys. She ran ahead with one boy and the other one stayed with Timothy while I pushed Christopher even faster and crazier down the hill now to the mailbox. I got to the end of our street (I still had another half a block to go to get to the bus stop) and decided I was just going to flag the driver down. I had run enough!
She did stop when she saw me standing in the middle of the road waving at her. She looked at me very quizzically and I panted heavily that I wanted to pick up Stephen who was supposed to be dropped off three stops previous. She looked very surprised and there was Stephen standing next to her trying not to cry. She said, "Well, I asked if there was anyone else that was supposed to get off there, but no one answered." Of course not! He's a little kid who is just obeying the adults around him! He didn't realize he was allowed to make that decision as to whether or not he should get off! Poor kid! He was so brave, but I could tell he wasn't quite sure what to think about all this. He never would have said a word, but would have dutifully ridden all the way back to school if I hadn't have been able to stop the bus!
So who knows what's going to happen now. When I called the bus garage today to confirm the drop off time of 12:25 (NOT 12:06!!), she told me that for now this is the time, but that it will be changing again. I'm not sure how much longer I can do this. Do you know how hard it is to entertain two little boys for a half an hour time span at a bus stop with nothing to do but wait?! They're not that patient! Thankfully the weather has been beautiful, but had it been raining, or worse yet, snowing, I would have been more than frustrated!
Oh, give me Chippewa's Mrs. Keller who would have sat there and waited for me because she would have known that I would be there! I hope I don't have any more days like today for a long, long time! If ever!
On the positive side: at least I got more than my normal exercise in today! :)
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Birthday Boys!
Today we celebrated Timothy and Christopher's birthdays! Yes, both of them share the 15th of September as their birth day. Timothy turned three today and Christopher is celebrating his first birthday. We decided to have a Lego birthday this year since that had been the plan for Timothy's birthday last year, but it never happened.
Last year, Stephen and Timothy and I were in the kitchen looking at pictures of Lego birthday cakes on the internet when my water broke and the adventure of Christopher's birth began. It was the day before Timothy's second birthday and we weren't expecting the new baby until sometime in October! Surprise, surprise! When Aunt Joanna (who had the boys while I was in the hospital) found out that Timothy was supposed to have a Lego cake for his birthday, she made a cake and put some Legos on it. He was happy about it, but this year decided that he wanted the Lego cake that he saw on the computer instead. I attempted to recreate what I saw on that website, but as you can tell from my pictures, I'm no cake decorator!
We had fun tonight at our Lego party! Auntie Esther brought some Lego candies that actually worked like the real ones, except that you can eat these! I finished decorating the cake with the ones that the kids let me have! We had Lego fruit snacks that Aunt Miriam got for us from the States and shared them with all of our cousins. We built with Legos (mostly the candy ones so that some could be snitched every so often). We ate our Lego cake. We had fun!
Grandpa and Grandma Schley called Timothy to sing Happy Birthday and I really wish I could have been videotaping the whole thing! First of all, they sounded pretty good singing together over Skype, and secondly, Timothy was so thrilled to have them sing to him! He was grinning from ear to ear and had the most amusing expression on his face as he listened. He loved every bit of the attention!
My little boys are growing up! It's hard to believe that Christopher is already a year old and little Timothy is three! He starts Sunday School tomorrow and couldn't be more thrilled! A grandmother friend of mine emailed me today and told me to enjoy these younger years because before I know it, I'll be an empty nester like her. It's hard to imagine that at this stage, but just looking back on how fast this past year has gone, I can see why she would say that.
So, Happy Birthday to my precious little boys who are growing up so fast! I love you, Timothy and Christopher, and may God give you many more happy birthdays in your lives!
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