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On the Bus
By Johanna Wald
Gradually, however, these kindergarteners found their "bus legs" and evolved into masters and mistresses of their universes. By spring, a certain cockiness had set in. The bus became their favorite part of the day. They bounded into line so eagerly each morning that they occasionally neglected to turn around and give their parents one final hug before embarking. Once seated, they sometimes became so engrossed in conversation they forgot to wave to us as the bus pulled away.
As the focus of their gaze shifted to what lay ahead, so did ours. A new parent/child dynamic was establishing itself, and some of the parents began to grouse. If we initially perceived ourselves as safe harbors where our children could return after their treacherous journeys beyond, we now began to feel more like the ones left behind as they set off on their excellent adventures. We even began to project forward to their adolescence, already foreseeing the moment when they would refuse to hug us in public, or insist that we drop them off a block away from school so as not to embarrass them in front of friends.