Friday, January 25, 2008

Pandora's Box
I almost forgot the duel... cutting it a little close here... I actually had my computer turned off and was in bed when I remembered! How dedicated am I?? :)
I think I've done a good/bad thing. Little Bug gets transportation to and from school. He has two different drivers. The man that drops him off in the afternoon seems very nice. He's quiet and very polite and as far as I've seen, he's a responsible driver.
The man that picks him up in the morning... sigh. He's a great guy. Very friendly and funny. Easy to talk to. But he drives fast - too fast. And... he talks on his cell phone while driving. Now, I don't know about you, but I can't talk on the phone and drive. If I have a head set, then I'm okay. But, I can't hold the phone to my ear and HONESTLY say that I'm not distracted. So, the fact that this guy is zipping around the neighborhood and yakking on his phone annoys me. A lot.
I've seen him on the phone a few other times and I always kind of blew it off. Maybe there was a family emergency. Maybe it was the transportation folks calling to tell him something... but I've run out of maybes. It's happened way too many times and I'm tired of it.
So I called the transportation department and complained. The next day we had a different driver show up. I'm not sure what happened. The next day I was getting a root canal and Hubby put him on the bus. Said things went well. And hopefully the cell phone is a thing of the past - which is a good thing!
So, what is the bad thing? Well, Little Bug can't talk. What if this guy got in trouble and ends up taking it out on Bug??? I wouldn't ever know! He could smack him around LB couldn't tell me. I don't think this guy would EVER do anything like this... but, unfortunately, it happens a lot with these kids that can't communicate. They are abused because the abusers know that the kids won't ever be able to tell anyone what happened.
Sigh... on a good note, the guy who came to pick up Little Bug the day after the call was one of his drivers from last year! It was so good to see him and he was so excited to see Little Bug and see how much he had changed! It was a fun thing!

11 comments:

... said...

i really thought you were going to lose the duel. you didn't have much time left.

i think you did the right thing about the driver. are there any other kids riding with LB? maybe they can be your ears and eyes.

have a great weekend.

Randi said...

I think you did the right thing, too. Good grief - If you're paid to drive, you should actually pay attention to the driving.

Ally said...

I agree, you did the right thing. I hope it will all turn out for the best. You're a wonderful mother!

And at the risk of sounded insincere, I'm glad you're still in the duel! ;) It just makes it more fun.

Jessica said...

You totally did the right thing! Good for you! I know it can be hard sometimes, but we gotta watch our for our little ones!

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Good for you babe! Remember, talking on the phone while driving must be against the rules for those in his profession. He knowingly broke the rules...not just that...he put YOUR child at risk by doing so. Don't doubt yourself...that was totally the right thing to do!

Holly (2 Kids and Tired) said...

It was the right thing to do. J used to take the special ed bus from school to daycare and if I'd ever suspected the driver of being irresponsible, I would have done the same thing. And even though the chance of him or someone else hurting Little Bug while on the bus are low, wouldn't he be agitated or show some signs of something not being right, even though he doesn't talk?

I feel for you. I'm sorry you're going through this.

Yvonne said...

I'm so glad you made the call--definitely the right thing to do. How fun to have a former driver and that he expressed there was changes in Little Bug That had to make you feel good ; )

I agree with holly--don't you think he would let you know somehow that things weren't right.

Yes, you are dedicated to get out of bed and post!!!

Holly Homemaker said...

You can never be TOO careful when it comes to your kids. And wouldn't you feel terrible if he got in an accident and you hadn't done anything about it? Err on the side of caution!!

You go girl!

Unknown said...

You definitely did the right thing. At least the thing I would have done. I sometimes worry about the same thing with Bode - that he can't communicate if I left him in the hands of a horrible caregiver. I guess that is why I'm so over-protective re: who watches him!

Unknown said...

hey melissa,
the competition is so fun. almost had ya! :) kathleen

Unknown said...

one more thing. my blog on your sidebar still has my old link if you wanted to update it :)