• Mood: drained
• Music: True Religion - The Weavers - Wasn't That A Time

Life From a Bus Window

I managed to recover enough to meet my exceedingly important parental obligation to accompany Skylar on her class's fieldtrip to the Desert Museum. I was burning reserves I didn't know I had, but I made it. Nothing dramatic happened a la Kim's experience on the last fieldtrip. The kids in my group were excited but responded to commands like, "Get off those rocks," when necessary. All the kids were well-behaved, actually. Still, dozens of orange-clad kindergartners are pretty taxing at their best.

It was worth it, though. Although we didn't have much time at the Desert Museum, our group did get to see a javelina, three coyotes, various gorgeous copper-based crystals and plenty of edgy reptiles. My personal highlight, however, was riding on a school bus for the first time since high school. I guess it's like riding a bicycle, because I settled right in. I was always prone to getting bus sick. This time, though, I made sure to lower the windows before I reached the point of no return.

I don't know how many of you rode school buses as children. I took the bus from the first day of kindergarten until I started driving myself in the eleventh grade. In Pennsylvania, the route was long and winding, with plenty of nice scenery. Today I was reminded how many hours I spent taking the world in from those distinctive windows.

My thumbs still feel the pressure from sliding the window catch. And that's a good thing.