It was 101 degrees on our first day back to school and no, we don’t have air conditioning in the buses in Austin. The morning route was smooth and uneventful except for one minor glitch. My bus had a zebra sticker where there should have been a lion. It caused a little confusion but I promised the parents that I would have a lion sign by the afternoon so their kids wouldn’t be confused.

I put not one but two lion signs on the bus to make sure the kids knew where they were supposed to be. We made it through the afternoon but not without a hitch.Halfway through the elementary route a little girl named Violet asked me if I got to her stop yet. I pulled over and checked her paper and sure enough her stop was the first one. Just then the radio spoke up, “Base 6 to Jimmy Joe. Do you have a girl named Violet on your bus?” I said I did and that I would take her back to the school after I dropped off the other kids. We got to the school and I walked her inside to her very anxious mom. It set me back thirty minutes on my middle and high school routes but one mom’s relief and gratitude made it all worth it. Violet never got upset. I told her I was taking her to her mom at the school and she accepted it. As it turns out the school put her on the wrong bus route. I was very happy to get Violet back to her mom and a little sad that this cool little girl wouldn’t be riding my bus anymore.