The other side of a morning ritual

Nearly every morning during my drive to work my cell phone rings.  My regulars look at their watches and if it's around 7:45, they know who will be on the other end of the call.

[~ring~]

Me:  Hello

Yonah:  Hi Abba... I'm waiting for my bus!

Me:  Really?  That's great.  Are you happy to be going to school?

Yonah (with a little prompting from Zahava): Yeah, I'm going to school now.

Me:  You're such a lucky boy.  Have a good day.  I love you!

Yonah:  I love you too, Abba.  Bye.

We rarely deviate from this script and neither of us really minds.  Despite my nagging worry that he doesn't seem quite as enthusiastic about going to school as I'd hoped, this has become a well-loved ritual for both of us and I appreciate that Zahava is nice enough to arrange the call each morning.

I have to go into Tel Aviv today to run some errands so I got to sleep in a bit.  While the kids were getting ready for school Zahava asked me if I wanted to walk Yonah to the bus stop and wait with him until his bus comes... and I jumped at the  chance to see the ritual from the other side.

Apparently Yonah is a big celebrity at the bus stop.  All the men walking home from morning prayers greet him by name and shake his hand as they pass... and the bus drivers of the 'big kid's buses' all wave to him as they drive past.

After a few minutes of watching my little man (all three=and-a-half years of him) hold court at the bus stop, I decided to interrupt Zahava's morning Pilates and dialed our home number on my cell phone.  Without missing a beat Yonah dutifully informed her that he was at the bus stop and that he loved her very much.  Seeing the big grin on his face as he spoke into the phone was a special treat for me and will add an extra dimension to our future morning calls.

When his bus arrived a few minutes later, his bus driver opened the door and gave Yonah a big hello.  The Bat Shirut (an 18 year old girl doing her national service) came down the steps and beckoned to Yonah, and without looking back, he climbed the steep stairs into the bus and immediately began greeting his friends seated near the front.

I tried to catch his eye for one last wave good-bye but he was gone.

I have to say that as much as I enjoyed the extra time with him this morning and seeing him so happy and confident in his element... the whole business of the school bus swallowing up my little boy was a little, well, jarring.

He could have at least looked back and waved.