The monkey started school last week. The day before we had told him: Tomorrow the bus is coming. He kept looking at us but didn’t really pay much attention. That Monday morning, we got him ready. He put on his new shoes, pants, and shirt. He had gotten a haircut the day before. We brushed his teeth and put on lotion. He was ready.
We went downstairs I told him he needed to get his backpack on. He listened to me but kept asking me for a car ride. I kept telling him we can’t go for a ride; the bus is coming. I just don’t think he believed me. For two months he kept waiting for the bus for hours and hours. And the bus never came.

I finally told him lets go outside and wait for the bus. He reluctantly obeyed. He was trying to get his backpack, but it was too heavy from all of the supplies we were asked to take. He was not happy. I kept telling him to wait, to be patient, the bus will be here soon. He finally just sat on the side of the sideway. But he was frustrated. He simply didn’t believe me.

After ten minutes I was getting nervous. Did I get the dates wrong? The bus should have been here ten minutes ago? I was getting very anxious.
You see, I needed the bus to get here. The Friday before the monkey’s allergies acted up and he started getting a rash on his cheek. My husband said not to worry. He should get better soon. He told me he will be fine by Monday. But I told him you don’t understand, he NEEDS to get better. He NEEDS to be ready for school on Monday. I knew I could not handle another day of trying to work and take care of him. There are a couple of times I felt I was going to have a nervous breakdown.

Handling multiple meetings, leading a department during a very rough time of the year, and taking care of the monkey was so so difficult. I knew could not handle another day juggling all of the demands.

And the monkey needed to go to school. I could see him loosing his spirits. His usually happy, funny, silly personality was changing. He was getting quiet and sad. He didn’t want to swim anymore or go out to the swing. This was just not him. He was not himself.

We knew the rash was due to an allergic reaction. He’s had this issue before, and we knew his allergies were getting worse. That Friday we took him to the Urgent. This decision is not made lightly. We usually don’t do this because we know it will be a very difficult task. He doesn’t do well in unknown places, and he would be fighting us all the way thru. But I needed him to get better. He had to be ready for school for both of our sakes.
We both needed this.

The doctor gave him steroids and by Sunday night his allergies were under control, and he was looking great. We were ready for school tomorrow. Yay!

Finally, Monday morning, we saw the bus from the street. The monkey started jumping up and down. He just couldn’t contain his excitement. He would then grab me and put his face on my stomach and scream in delight! He couldn’t believe the bus was coming! He ran to put on his backpack even though it almost tilted him back from how heavy it was. He didn’t care. He was so happy! When the bus made a complete stop, I let go of the monkey’s hand. I had made a request to keep our same bus driver. And we had been approved. The monkey ran inside the bus and hugged the bus driver for a very long time. The bus driver looked at him and said: “I missed you, Bubba. I missed you too!”