(Our current mini van in its natural habitat, the Wal-Mart parking lot, on a family road trip.) I began 'carpooling' (i.e., driving my children to school) out of necessity when my sons started attending a magnet school several miles from home ten years ago. I concluded it was the least I could do to give them the best possible education, and giving them the best possible education is one of my primary goals as a mother, right? (Of course it is!)
So when Taylor was in fourth grade and Tom starting first I began driving them every morning and every afternoon. Abby and Emily, strapped in their carseats as pre-schoolers, went along for the ride as well before they were themselves the reasons I went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...adding middle schools and high schools as time went on...back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
There was an inevitable degree of inconvenience and expense involved in the decision to carpool: scraping frost and snow from car windows, fighting traffic, racing the clock. (And as a naturally punctual person, racing the clock is the worst part of all!) On two memorable occasions Tom forgot his shoes at home (since he often put them on in the car en route) so we had to turn around and go home again...back and forth. Over the years we've added and deleted passengers to the carpool to help other families as needed.
Before my oldest graduated from the carpool to drive his own car, the odometer in our van whirled like the electric meter on the side of our house. I was constantly replacing tires and brake pads and pumping gas. My long-haul trucker brother was even impressed with the miles I logged in my mini van.
Was it worth it? Was the school that great and the teachers that exceptional? I think so. I hope so. I'm pleased with the results so far.
But the best part is...I am the vehicle for my children. I am their resource. I take them places and I bring them home. We talk en route. Sometimes we divert. Always we connect.
And all of this mutual interdependence is made possible by my husband.
Thank you, Scott.
2 comments:
Yes, Thank you both Cheryl and Scott. You have truly been a beacon in your focus on providing an atmosphere that promotes excellence. I recognize that mini-van and its predecessor for the the commitment it declares! We will never know if the local walk to school would have sufficed, but I doubt it, too.
Grandma
One thing I hated when I was taking the kids to school here in Florida, was it took an hour at least to pick them up, with waiting in the lines of cars. It felt like so much time and gas wasted. But at the same time... Justin and I spent a LOT of time together in the car (waiting for the elementary school kids to get out) and that part was great. We talked more than usual. Now, I'm homeschooling and though he's home a LOT more, we probably talked more sitting in the car together.
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