The wheels on the bus

Climbing up the bus steps without hesitation proved Alena's independence. She didn't waver or second guess herself, she followed the driver's lead back to her assigned seat, sat down and smiled (I cried like a baby as soon as the wheels started turning).



Actually, I'm willing to bet I'll never watch these 20 seconds of video and her little waving hand without crying. Yes, even when she's fifteen and I want to strangle her or when she's thirty and has a baby of her own, I'll still cry at seeing my baby be not quite the baby she once was.

The return ride was just as exciting, and maybe even more so, since she was bursting with tales of classmates and words to new songs and pride in her school bus artwork she had created. And, for the record, the bus driver's name is Gene.