I get behind the same school bus at least twice a week. I don't like it...but not for the reason you may think. I only get "inconvenienced" as the bus makes its very last stop. There is only one final student to pick up...and the school is only about a mile and a half away. No big deal for me.
It is...I'm afraid...a very big deal for that last student.
I'd say she is about 12 or 13. She stands alone in her driveway. She is always there...and she is always on time. She stands there...looking downward...slumped over a bit. I've never seen her smile. I've never even seen her eyes. She clearly has no childlike excitement or enthusiasm for the day...at least not this part of it. She seems to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. I can only imagine the sense of dread she must be feeling morning after morning.
From my vantage point directly behind the bus...I can see through the back windows. I can see the other students laughing and playing around. As the bus stops to pick up the young girl...as if on "automatic" and on cue...I can see the other riders begin to slide over to the aisle as if to say, "Seat taken." Or, perhaps more likely, "Don't even think of sitting here." The saddest thing to me is, those other students never stop laughing. They continue their playful joyfulness and simply shut this girl our of their world. They never break stride. It's as if she doesn't exist.
I ache for her. I can imagine that the short mile and a half must seem like an eternity to her.
It makes me wonder how often I (or we?) might do the same thing. Maybe we don't intend to...or maybe sometimes we do. Maybe sometimes we get so caught up in our on agendas and musings that we fail to see that a person...a human being...has entered our "world" and simply needs a place to sit. To be included. To be ackowledged. To be welcomed. To be accepted. To be loved.
Never in a zillion years will that young girl read this blog post. But just in case...young lady, you are a person of worth and value...no matter who you are, where you come from, or what you've done. You are wonderfully and beautifully made. You are loved without measure and without condition. Please don't grow up to hate the world because of what happens on your school bus.
And for the rest of us...let's make sure we are always making room.
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Image from www.nas.org/.../schoolbus/bus_seats_sm.jpg
