Deliverance: the magic of the school bus

Now that four ducklings are back in the nest, I can describe our day:
-Never take a spinning class a day before you need to ascend and descend the stairs 5500 times.
-We had our Primary Brothers breakfast: egg sandwiches with vermont cheddar on 12 grain bread, melon, granola and life cereal.
-We ran to the bus stop, my self-afffirmation: I gave birth to them, I can put them on the schoolbus. I gave birth to them, I can put them on a schoolbus . .
-I videoed, held Clara, while Geoff helped them board the bus holding Calliope, and taking down the busdriver's cell phone number, which he doesn't seem to answer. . .ahem.
-We immediately got into the car to meet the bus at the school. You might think that's crazy but there were maybe 7 other families doing the same thing.
-The magic of the bus arriving (before the bell!) and delivered to school safe and sound. We parents clustered like paparazzi, I was shifty and my legs were cold (Clara has deterred me from pairing jeans with dresses). And then, amazingly, the bus files in behind the car line. And then, we watched our kids, an straggled string of them, walking the path down to their classrooms. We, the anxious paparazzi, they the backpack toting stars on the red carpet. Manny and Benicio did not break stride but waved shyly at us. We followed them down the path.
-After a minor continence glitch, the boys got settled into their classrooms. Their rooms are next door to each other. We stood back and noted how different the tones were in each room, evident even in the first few minutes of the year.
-The girls and I dropped Geoff off and spent the morning at Clara's playgroup. And I could process things and laugh. My favorite was discussing the sewing project of making one's own menstrual pads, Maggie, with conviction and certainty, "No, not at all. What would the OPPOSITE of that be?"
-Then we erranded (Whole Foods, Ballet School, library) until it was time to meet the bus. Due in at 3:50, I spent a 10 frantic minutes praying, "Trust, trust, trust." And yet speed-dialing mamas whose kids were on the same bus. When, at 4:03, appearing like an enormous whale beaching on the intersection of Green and Washington, arrives Andy the bus driver, and I can see my sons emerging the aisle, smiling and bounding down into my eager arms.

*Stay tuned for pictures and more about life with two first graders.