Riding the Bus

After careful consideration and convincing I decided to allow my 10 year old son to catch the bus; his anticipation was building and he could not wait until Friday when he would catch the city bus for the very first time on his own. I believe this was a greater challenge for me than for him. I was determined not to let my fear influence his courage. See he never thought, "What if I caught the wrong bus and is unable to call my mom", which was my fear. But what he didn’t know is I had secretly planned to follow him just to make sure he made it safely. How can we as parents let them make such brave independent decisions without the worry? Knowing this was a big step in his life, I knew I couldn’t hinder this defining “male” moment. So, I drove to the bus stop where he would be getting off the bus. But he was not there. I drove to his school and he was not there either. Panic began to set in. My fear was starting to surface. An ache came over my heart. Pretending to be brave I drove home and suggested to his baby sister who was also beginning to worry, “He probably is at home.” He was not there either. As I turned to leave to search the perimeter to locate my missing 10 year old son, we approached the end of our street he appeared with a big smile. I smiled back