It's Not Fair

School Bus

We all have those moments when we feel like screaming, “It’s not fair.” Life isn’t fair. You gotta take the lumps and deal with them.

As a child you try to get your parent to change their mind about something. “It’s not fair!!” Maybe it’s about sibling rivalry.

"No fair. She gets to stay up longer than I do!!” or maybe it’s about sleeping over at Gramma’s house. “She went last time. Isn’t it MY turn? No fair.”

You hear about it in school, in the work place, or any place out in the world. There’s rivalry, “me first”, and then there’s the “privileged”. It’s a part of life. Some people get their way.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Isn’t that what they always say? Life is not fair, you just have to move on. Nothing gets handed to you on a silver plate.

Since my oldest was going to go to high school in the fall, I thought I’d see if she could get school bus service.

I tried this two years ago, but I was told that it was not “hazardous” enough. There weren’t any major highways for the kids to cross on the way to school. They walk eight blocks to school. It’s only a 10 minute walk. That’s not too bad.

The high school is about a 45 minute walk from our house. On top of that, a new church and school is being built on the outskirts of town. The old one will be closed at the end of the school year. My youngest would need transportation to get to the new school.

I called the local school bus. (Lucky for me, I got to talk to women who I could understand most of the time.) I was given another number to call. I describe my dilemma. I am legally blind. I can’t drive my kids to school. How are they going to get there?

The conversation went like this:

Person on phone: Where do you live?

Me: Right in town.

(Most school buses are provided for kids who live in the country.)

P: Do your children have a special need?

Me: No.

P: We can’t help you.

M: Even if the parent has disabilities? Only if the child has a special need? Is that fair?

P: I am sorry. I do understand. You could consider city bus transit or maybe the school can help you?

M: I've already told the school about the situation. Haven't heard anything. Well, thanks for your time.

(I was curt but not overly mean as I hung up the phone. I know it wasn’t her fault. It was just the system.)

City transit? Uh, sorry. Call me judg”mental”, but I don’t like the idea of having my kids wait an hour and a half while transferring on two different bus routes in the morning and afternoon. Too time-consuming. Maybe I am overprotective, too. Maybe I watch too many shows like Law and Order. I don't want them standing at a bus stop at 6 in the morning and getting home at 5:30 p.m.

The school? Like I said, I talked with a few teachers about it. I wanted to see if anyone would be happy to carpool, to pick the girls up for me and take them home from school. I'd be happy to pay for the gas. I haven't heard anything. I just want to take care of it early. Get a head start on it so I don't worry about it.

I'm not looking for a free ride. I am willing to pay for the bussing services if I have to. I don't drive. I don't have a car payment, car insurance costs, car maintenance, or have to fill up my gas tank. That money can go towards transportation.

We need to change something. How many parents with disabilities (any kind-cancer, paraplegic, blind, etc) would like to be able to have school bus service for their kids? What does it take to wake them up? A petition? This is ridiculous. Something has to be done.