And off we go to school

 You know those logic puzzles that start out something like: Joe is married to Sally; Sally’s sibling runs a restaurant; Mary has red hair and likes pizza; Bob is allergic to tomatoes and works at Home Depot. And then you have to figure out what each of them had for dinner. Ok, they give you a few more hints, but you know what I’m talking about, right?

I used to love working on those, and so did Hubby, until he had to spend the entire weekend working on a real-life logic puzzle.

School started here yesterday, which meant my husband went back to driving school bus. Which meant he had three lists of students riding his bus – the elementary school kids who ride every day, half the middle schoolers and high schoolers who ride Mondays and Wednesdays, and the other half who ride Tuesdays and Thursdays. Only siblings can sit in the same seat together, and optimally the bus fills in the morning from back to front, so students getting on aren’t passing the kids who were already picked up.

So, now, dear bus-driver, come up with a seating chart for these forty-plus boys and girls and label each of their seats. 

At that point, my organizational skills kicked in and my OCD flipped out. “Hubby,” I nearly shouted at him, “we have to color-code and laminate those name tags!”

Is it any wonder I get any sleep at night!

I do, however, need to mention, that Hubby and the other bus drivers are only one tiny segment of the nightmare which COVID19 has created for our educational system. Every teacher on the planet has my full sympathy. And you parents, trying to hustle your kids off to school, while on your knees praying that school doesn’t get called off AND that your precious babies don’t catch the virus? I wish I could be your literal shoulder to cry on. Lord knows, nobody has gotten enough hugs since this pandemic began.

Hang in there, everybody. We will get through this thing, braver and stronger people than when this started. And hopefully, our kids will be smarter.