It’s the “Little” Things!

Becoming a mom has made me slow down. I now notice the small things. I now hear sounds I wouldn’t have paid attention to before. I now interact with people I would have probably passed without noticing before.

A very real example of this in our family is the big yellow school bus that turns our corner every afternoon at 4pm. I will admit that as an adult, the grandness of a school bus had long worn off for me. School buses didn’t excite me when I saw them drive past on the road or in front of my house. Now, they do! Especially one in particular. 

In the fall of 2018, we began noticing a pattern of the school bus stopping at our corner to let our neighbor off. Then the bus would beep several times before turning the corner and gearing up the hill at our house. Every afternoon at 4pm we would hear those beeps and the sound of the bus stopping and starting again. We were often just finishing snack after naptime and sometimes we were outside playing as she passed. That is when our relationship with the bus driver began. 

This sweet bus driver comes around the corner, up our hill, with her arm waving outside her open window. She has a smile that lights up her face and always enthusiastically waves to my 3.5 yr old, Rose. Every day Rose wakes up from her nap, runs down the hall to get a snack, and waits for that special sound. We hear those beeps and Rose runs to our front door. She swings the door open and begins waving even before the bus starts back up the hill. As the bus passes, Rose and that sweet driver are both enthusiastically waving their arms at one another with smiles across their faces.  The smile across MY face as I witness this sweetness every.single.day can also be seen across the road, I am sure.  

There have been days when Rose wakes from her nap and I have a list a mile long that I need to accomplish. Several times that I can account, I’ve told Rose “Let’s get your snack and eat it in the car on the way to the grocery store.” or “Let’s hurry and grab such-and-such on our way to see Daddy at work.” and every time Rose reminds me “But I have to wave to the bus driver!” In the moment, I might sigh and experience frustration at that “kink” in my schedule. But as soon as that sweet bus driver passes and intentionally waves and smiles at my girl, all that frustration fades away as I remember those small moments and the childlike joy God wants us to experience daily. 

Halloween of 2018 was the first time we spoke to Ms. Laura, the sweet bus driver. We were playing in the front yard as she passed and she stopped her bus right in front of our house and asked for me and Rose to come to her window. I hoisted Rose up to see Ms. Laura and she handed Rose some candy. It made Rose’s day even more special!  Days went by as we continued to wave and look for one another each day at 4pm.  On Valentine’s Day, Rose and I picked out a heart shape box of chocolates and Rose wrote Ms. Laura a note. We handed it to her as she drove by that week.  Along came the week before Easter, and Ms. Laura stopped in front of us and asked us to come to her window. She was grinning ear to ear as she handed two Easter buckets FULL of goodies for Rose and Grady. One pink and one blue. Both full of perfectly age-appropriate toys and goodies. I was in awe at her thoughtfulness. Here she is, a bus driver for the middle school, thinking about MY toddler and baby and spending her own money to bless my kiddos in an extra special way.  I was able to talk to Rose about Ms. Laura’s extreme kindness and we talked about how we could be extra kind to HER and bless her. Rose wanted to find some perfect goodies for Ms. Laura, so off we went.  We excitedly handed the Easter bag over to Ms. Laura the next afternoon as she passed.  I was able to write her a note of encouragement and thankfulness at the way she has blessed me and my children.  I was also able to share my faith and invite her to our church if she was not a member of a church. 

We do not know much about Ms. Laura. We really only know her name and her smile. I do not know if she is a believer or if she is a member of a church.  But I do know that she thinks my kids are special and she has treated them with an unordinary kindness. She has blessed our family tremendously – starting with intentional eye-contact, smiling, and waving and now with special gifts from her heart. Through this simple interaction with our sweet bus driver, I am reminded of the impact a simple wave can make. Or a simple greeting. What started so simple has grown into something even more special. May I always be on the lookout for moments like these to be a blessing to others like Ms. Laura has been to us.  Showing Christ’s love doesn’t have to be an extraordinary plan or production. It can be done through unordinary kindness. On a daily basis, we pass people and may not notice them. May we be on the lookout like Ms. Laura is for my 3.5 yr old standing in the doorway and may we go out of our way to extend simple kindness to one another.  I am eternally grateful for the lesson God has taught me through Ms. Laura, the bus driver, and Rose this school year.