The Wheels on the Bus

Well, I lost the run that I had last year. In case you weren't around then, this was a nearly perfect run. I only had one school in the morning so I was back home in time to get Amanda to school and in the afternoon Kyle was home before Amanda and watched her for about an hour before I got home. As perfect as I could probably get.

I kind of knew that I was going to lose it though. Several runs had been cut and those drivers had the pick of the run of the least senior driver in their "zone". Being my rookie year it stood to reason that my run was at risk. I tried to convince Shelley that my run really wasn't all that great but no dice. So I have spent weeks wondering and pondering the kind of run that I might get and if I would have to find some other way to earn a buck. Amanda just isn't old enough to get up and off to school on her own yet and teachers frown on children showing up late every day so I have to make sure the run fits.

So, this run is one school - morning & night with a noon run as well. I won't have room for Amanda but I don't have to leave until 8:00AM so I can get her up & ready then she can be alone for a half an hour until the neighbours are ready to go and they will come and get her (they did this last year too so that's not new). If for some reason they don't go to school I will get home in time to take her myself. After school I will be home about 4:00 - an hour earlier than last year! AND ... this is a van run!!! Do you know how many drivers have to die before a van run comes up for grabs for someone as low on the seniority list as me? Let's just say that we are talking about a disaster - not just an unfortunate incident or woeful tragedy - at a company event. Thankfully this didn't happen, but you get the idea of what a remarkable happenstance this is.
So, I can :
1. Park at home. Cleaning off, starting and warming up a gasoline van is so much easier than a diesel bus.
2. Sleep in. Okay, 7:15AM is early compared to 10:00AM but it's way better than 5:45AM.
3. Relax. It's still work but 6 kids instead of 40+ kids - hell yeah, that's what I call relaxing.
4. Work less. Overall I'd say I'm putting in about 2 hours less per day. Yes, I'll not get paid quite as much but more sleeping/knitting time for me and all things considered, I'm more than happy with the way the scales are balancing.
5. Drive in town. 2 of the stops are just outside of town, but otherwise this is a town run. Winter driving on extreme rural roads are a thing of the past. Only my friend Ada is happier about this than I am!

I don't believe that any driver would ever say - out loud - that they are "more" of a driver because of the vehicle that they drive, but the sentiment is a subtle undercurrent. I still have to maintain a B licence and can go into a bus or short bus anytime - it's more of an unspoken thing among drivers. But I don't care - this is the perfect run and they will have to pry the keys for the van out of my cold, dead hands before I give it up. I will retire on this run. Unless of course the ever unpredictable School Board shoots me down, but I'll just take it year to year.

I am really pushing through Fiona's sweater. I'm going to block out the body tomorrow, so I'll try to take a picture that I can post. The linen is a bit hard on my hands but I'm getting better at remembering to use the bottles of hand cream that I've got all over the house. Then it's on to a scarf set for Elann out of a Kidsilk Haze type yarn. I don't think that it's on their site yet, but I'll let you know when I see it.