A Haven for Vee

Thursday, December 12, 2013

My Nonni Story of Week One


Here I am, a mere three days into caring for my grands after school, and I already have a story

I live on a street that apparently is something of a nightmare for a schoolbus since the street is narrow and winter only makes it worse; there's also an S curve. Bottom line is that the grandchildren can not be delivered directly to my home. 

And, because I am unwilling to hang out on a corner a block down the street (pitbulls running amok, freezing temps, icy roads), it means that I must fetch them a little after three in the afternoon. 

I tried the picking-them-up-in-
the-school-lobby thing on Monday and Tuesday. Have you been in a school lobby lately? (Imagine what it might be like! Talk about chaos and confusion. I don't know how anyone functions there.) I decided to request that the boys be dropped off at their own home not five minutes from school and I would pick them up there thus avoiding the entire school lobby scene.

Yesterday was my first day to get to their driveway; their home is even closer than the school; it would be so easy to receive them directly from the schoolbus. Fine. It should have been fine. I was more than fifteen minutes early after all. 

Unfortunately, just as I reached the railroad crossing, the lights began to flash and a train blasted its horn and thus began my nightmare. The train stopped on the tracks doing goodness knows what. I was beside myself and praying most desperately for The Lord to allow the bus to be late, for the bus driver to recognize the crazy woman in the Impala with its blinking headlights or whatever it would have to be. I prayed more in that ten minutes of time than I have in weeks as the train fiddle-flipped back and forth, back and forth without ever clearing the crossing. 

I was nearing a meltdown when I called John. He could access their home from the other side. His cell phone rang and rang and rang. No answer!

Praying, praying, looking beneath the train for signs of a bus on the other side. Plenty of pickle prayers going heavenward. Finally, finally, the train backed up to where it had been when it blew its horn in the first place. I gunned the car and got across those tracks with the RR lights still flashing red — don't mess with me, Mr. Engineer. You're not going to fiddle-flip around when I've got grandkids being dropped off over there. The baby grand is autistic. I'm going! You can not stop me!

I turned into the drive seconds later with nary a sign of a school bus on the horizon. I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving. I was safe. Safe! (Even if my heart was still pounding out of my chest.) I hopped out to pick up the spare booster seat and heard children's voices in the barn. With mounting horror, I realized that those voices belonged to my grands. My grands! They were in the barn! 

They called out in their sweet sing-song voices, "We get out of school an hour earlier on Wednesdays." 

What?! I truly thought I was going to faint. Keel over. They'd have to revive me with cold snow in my face. It was going to be awful. 

Just when I was sinking down, I saw my daughter's face in the barn loft door. Thanks be to God! They had not been alone all that time!

The rest of the story:

Auntie was home having decided to take the day off. As she was fetching a bag of pellets in the barn, she heard the bus, looked out, and realized that it was just waiting so she ran down the drive and got the boys off the bus. If she had been upstairs in her apartment, there would not have been enough time to meet them at the bus. They were all happily playing basketball in the loft when I arrived. 

Here I was praying that I'd be there in time for that bus and I was already over an hour late. (My son forgot to inform me of this entire Wednesday early dismissal thing. Yes, in fairness, he had mentioned it several weeks ago when we were first discussing the boys hanging out with me after school, but I am olden and need a reminder. The last thing I heard from him Tuesday night was to be there at 3:30.) 

All that worry and suffering and God had everything under control all the time. He knew that the boys get out of school early on Wednesdays. He knew that I was going to forget. He knew that my son was going to forget to remind me. Auntie stayed home, which is highly unusual. She may think that she stayed home to study for a test. I think she stayed home because God wanted to keep the boys from feeling frightened. 

(I am told that if no one had been home, the boys would not have been allowed off the bus. They would have continued on the bus route and been taken back to school where their mother (my daughter-in-law) would have been notified at work. They would have been fine. I, however, would have required an ambulance. ☺)


44 comments:

  1. Awe...So sorry. (although..I did chuckle, just a bit.) I pray the rest of the babysitting goes smoothly..Blessings

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Vee, I so agree with you! All things happen for a reason, I've had so many things happen that just convince me of this! Everything happened as it should! I did enjoy your story though!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Life is never simple, is it? And I often know that God looks down at me and thinks....You poor thing, you're going to need help with what you're trying to do and don't even know it. haha! I've had lots of help along the way....and I'm sure you feel the same way. What an adventure! Have a GOOD day! Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can sympathize with you Vee. I detest trying to pick up grands from school where there is no parking with cars and people everywhere. I could feel your anxiety while waiting for the train and felt relieved myself that the kids were fine and with an auntie.
    Down the road the routine will become second nature and you'll just have fun together!
    Judith

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this post, Vee! Isn't it wonderful the way God has everything worked out way ahead of us? I'm sorry you had to suffer such worry (and you ran through a railroad crossing!), but thankful it all worked out. I understand your feeling of urgency; our son is not autistic, but when he was in Kindergarten, first, and second grade, I worked part time. The agreement with my employers when I was hired was that I work until 2:00 every day because I had to be home on time to be at the bus stop to pick up our son. The bus stopped at the top of our street. Many days they kept me late at work, and I drove home like a maniac in order to beat the schoolbus. I'm glad all was well, and I'm really glad you didn't get hit by the train. :)

    Warm hugs,

    Denise at Forest Manor

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Vee I can soo identify with this post...I was living it with you.....GO train, GO!! How is it we forget that the Lord ALWAYS has our backs....When I was caring for my grands a few years ago I too had a few of these pick up instances. And I was there at noon for the KG, and again at 3 for the older one. Began to feel like I lived there. And there was always such chaos! They do the best they can with all those kids, but it is overwhelming sometimes. Glad everything was fine!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, bless your heart! I was feeling the anxiety with you. It is one thing when the crisis is your own...but it is quite another when it involves your grands! I was glad when the story came to a delightfully happy ending, and, yes, our Father had it all taken care of!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well I was glued to the post like a mystery novel ... thank goodness , all's well that end well :))

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well, that probably cost you a year or so from fright! Your prayers were answered, but not in the way you expected. Thank goodness the kids were OK.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can just imagine how you were feeling while waiting for that train!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love to hear how our Heavenly Father already has things in control. What a wonderful blessing!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Bless your heart! "All things work for good" comes to my mind. I'm so thankful that you didn't have a heart attack while staring at that train! I'm still laughing about the 'olden' part. LOL~

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, MY!!! I can just imagine how scared you were!! Praise God he had it under control all along! Doesn't he always?? I hope you enjoy having the boys! It can be a challenge I'm sure! Pace yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  14. My heart is recovering from this story. Wow. So thankful that God didn't just set us on the planet and walk away, aren't you? What a beautiful reminder of His providential care.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I worked in the public elementary school system for 30 years. I well know the chaos that erupts in the lobby or hall next to the lobby when the 3:00 bell rings. You can't even hear anything on the telephone. Some principals direct them to take a different route but the one I had was not to make any rules that would make a parent mad. So there ya' are! If you were in the hallway at 3:00, you nearly got killed with kids running for the front door. There are many reasons that I'm glad I retired - but -- I miss that job to death.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh dear I can just imagine the panic and those prayers being shot up to the throne. Love all those "coincidences" and I love it when God works these things out for us!

    ReplyDelete
  17. The stress of this is palpable in your writing. Haven't we all been there? I feel much more cautious, of course with my grands than I did with my own kids … what a story and so glad it worked out OK.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Vee, I was on the edge of my seat as I was reading your story. Being a grandmother takes on new meanings that we never had when our kids were in school. I took care of our granddaughters back in September for 10 days and was thoroughly exhausted with all the specifics of pick ups, drop offs, and extra-activities. God does watch over us!! XOXO

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh Vee, that really is a story. I can just imagine your frantic prayers. God watches over us so tenderly.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sorry you had to worry while waiting for the train, Vee. Everything turned out for the good. God is in control. I hope the rest of the babysitting goes well!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow, this is a saga! Glad it worked out the way it did. xo

    ReplyDelete
  22. Brings tears to my eyes - how God does always have everything under control. Praise God! A happy ending to the story.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Whew!!! So glad that worked out for you.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Now, that's quite a story. I can just imagine you were frantic. God knows, and foreknows each and every situation. His ways are so much higher than ours, while you were praying for the bus to be delayed, He knew what you were really praying for was the kids to be safe and they were, additionally He prevented you from having a heart attack. Thanks for sharing this Vee, glad it all worked out for the good. Have fun with those grands. ~ Abby

    ReplyDelete
  25. I can imagine how your heart must have skipped a beat or two thinking you were going to be late, finding out you actually were! Thank the Lord He had it all under control. He always does :>)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh Vee, I can SOOOOOOO relate to this, you have no idea how much. We babysat our grands when our son and dil went to Denver for work training last February and would you believe there was a HUGE snowstorm that hit while our oldest grand was at school, I wont even say how long I stood at that bus stop waiting for the bus to come because I was too afraid I would miss it, I probably looked like a snowman by the time that bus arrived.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh my goodness you poor thing . What a fright . I am glad all are ok and things are back in order . Thanks for sharing . Have a good week .

    ReplyDelete
  28. P.S sorry I did have a giggle at how you wrote it though been there done it with my own kids lol

    ReplyDelete
  29. You poor thing! I was a nervous wreck just reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Oh no! A lot of times school buses here don't drop kids off at their actual house, only at the entrance road to their neighborhoods, so kids still have a good distance to walk even if they ride the bus.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh my ..what a harrowing story, Vee! My heart was pounding along with yours, reading this! It is so stressful to be late for school pick up or bus drop off, etc. I remember when I was working I would get off work at 3PM and race over to the elementary school to pick up my children who were in the office waiting on bench for me. Dismissal was at 3 but I asked that they be allowed to wait inside until In picked them up as I knew I'd get there later. If I was very late I got nasty looks from the secretaries and my children..lol I finally found a Mother who could take them to her house till I could come by and get them. As a nurse we always had emergency situations at work so I could never rely on getting out on time.

    I'm so glad your situation worked out well and that your daughter was home and the boys were ok!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Well it all turned out well, don't your children give you detailed instructions on paper when looking after the grands, mine do and i'm only looking after the dog but i do forget things.
    Merle................

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, no written instructions. I have it marked on the calendar now, though, believe me.

      Delete
  33. Vee, Your story has my heart beating fast..whew! all's well that ends well....or so the saying goes...I love the escapades of Vee....glad they were well taken care of..
    Love, Mona

    ReplyDelete
  34. Oh goodness, Vee, I felt your fear, pain and prayers, but yes, God did have it all worked out. Your prayers were received and all worked out. Blessings to you!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I am having coniption fits, too, Vee- wow. What an ordeal of scary nature, yikes!

    WELL, it all happened for a reason: to you to give good witness to the Good Works of our Living God.

    Amen and Hallelujia!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Oh my! As always God was in control. Great story!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. I can sense your stress and would have been feeling it myself! Wowie! So great when God shows us how He has gone before us to provide something (daughter being home) we didn't know we needed!

    Thankful!

    Deanna

    ReplyDelete
  38. Oye (as Ellen would say!)...that was even stressful for me to read. I hope you get their pick-up schedule down pat soon. :)

    I've been doing a lot of praying over here as well this week. I know God has it all under control...but I sure don't.

    ReplyDelete
  39. God is sooo good! He knows what we need before we ask for it. I'm so glad He worked it all out so perfectly. I would have had to be revived too! I really enjoyed your story of woe and had a good laugh at your expense... thanks for sharing with us and letting us feel better about the kafaffles (Anne of Green Gables) in our lives.

    Blessings to you and those darling boys! Edie Marie

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thank goodness everyone was safe and sound! I can only image how frantic you must have been!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Oh my Vee this could be a Readers Digest story I am submitting now :) Or know I mean I am hitting the Publish button on the bottom of this Post!
    Bravo, you are an artist and a writer, and lets not forget the Photographer!
    Love, Roxy

    ReplyDelete
  42. O, I've BEEN THERE...DONE THAT...
    Why, I once climbed thru a tiny mobile home once to get to a grand....a story that will have to be posted....SOMEday. :)

    ReplyDelete
  43. I held my breath Vee! I so can understand exactly how you must have felt. God knew! Praise God it all worked out like it did.

    ReplyDelete

🕊
If comments disappear, please don't fret. A simple "hi" will do. The platform surely needs some maintenance.