Rylie's Day Two

So, day two of kindergarten was great - we think! Rylie's entire second day of school was overshadowed by the fact that she was on the wrong bus home! Yup, I waited at the bus stop and she didn't get off the bus! I was frantic. My worst nightmare. I hate the bus and was afraid of her taking it and then on the SECOND day of school, she gets on the wrong bus home! We're still not completely sure how it happened. She was wearing her name tag with her bus number on it and we were assured at orientation that each kindergarten child is individually put on the correct bus. Obviously not! She was lined up in her bus line, but is the only kindergarten student on that bus, and they put her first in line! I'm sure it was Rylie that got confused, but someone should have been checking her tag. Thankfully, she was smart enough to not get off the bus she was on, so when she was the last child on and was crying, the driver checked her tag, saw that she was on the wrong bus and radioed in that she had Rylie. Meanwhile, I was trying to call the school and no one was answering and Brad was driving on his way to the school. So, for half an hour, our baby was "lost" and we were frantic. Finally a neighbor got through to the school, who called the bus company, who called me to tell her that they had Rylie and she was on her way back to the bus garage. I was relieved, but so sad for poor Rylie! Brad came home, realizing he didn't have a car seat and drove to the bus garage to pick up a very brave, but very upset little girl! She cried and flew into his arms. Her regular bus driver was very sweet and waited to talk to Brad and Rylie and informed Brad that the school told her that she had no kindergarten kids on her afternoon run, so she never looked for Rylie. So, she told Rylie her name was Miss Debbie and that she would make sure every day that Rylie was on the bus before she left. I cried when she got home, so happy to see her! It was after 5:00 after all. She told me she didn't know if she would ever see me again. Heartbreak!! So, we let her relax a bit, had dinner and took her out for ice cream. It was the topic of conversation for the rest of the day, but she dealt with it very well. We emailed with Rylie's teacher and the principal to make sure that they took extra measures to ensure that all the kids were safe. This situation ended well, but could have had a very scary ending. Rylie was also assigned a "bus buddy" who is one of her first grade friends on the street. Amazingly, she got back on that bus on Tuesday and made it home safely! I thought I was going to be sick at the bus stop waiting for her to get off that bus. I worry every day still, but so far, no more problems. What an experience!