I got to open an early birthday present from Steve last night. Its my sister Karen, from Manila. She is Steve's birthday present to me.
I was so excited I could barely sleep.
It is now 8 AM, I just finished the morning grind--breakfast, brown bags/milk money, last minute notes to teachers, etc.
Karen bared the nipple-y weather with me, as we waved goodbye to the girls.
They were off to school in their yellow school bus.
Karen's comment: "its so American".
A few days before the end of the summer, we got a letter in the mail. It was from the bus driver that drove K to school each morning. She wrote to say that she was not going to be the bus driver this year, as she was assigned a different route. She remembered that our younger daughter was starting school this year. (They had waved at each other all throughout last school year.) She just wanted to be sure that both our daughters would be prepared for a new bus driver for this school year.
I looked up her phone number and gave her a call. I told her that her note was certainly appreciated. (since up until that point we had been telling G that she was going on the bus with Ms. Pat)
That one simple gesture told me that the woman considers her work to be a career and not just a job. I admired her ability to carry out her work with the full commitment and forethought as any other profession that society holds up to a high esteem. (ie: anything that earns bucco bucks)
In an industry where the turn over rate is pretty quick and school bus drivers can go unappreciated, American or not, this was certainly a class act.