Networking and the School Bus Stop

I travel for my birthday. This time I had a trilogy. Instead of working on Monday I dealt with traffic on I-270. Can't say which is more frustrating. After a nice weekend and an upgraded room (with no one to invite to use the jacuzzi in the room- figures) I headed home preparing for the next flight.

Instead of trying to recall the last time I had a full week off work (it usually happens when I travel internationally) I decided to achieve a long standing goal. My sister bought a house in Vienna when her son was a baby. It is not far from the Washington and Old Dominion Trail.

In theory I could ride over and see her new family. Life happened- between work, their availability and weather I did not ride the eight miles to this area until my birthday. It was the first day of school.

One perk of an August birthday was that I never had to go to school on my birthday. My mother would take us out to lunch and there was cake in the evening. School starts earlier now.

Another reason I don't want to return to school. I arrived a little early and walked to the bus stop. Since it was the first day there were many parents and even some grandparents to witness the event. My sister and her husband arrived soon after. Such is the advantage of working from home.

Sometimes they go into the office. They built an office above their garage which inspired their three year old son to say "I'm going to my office" when he began preschool. Creativity is one of his strong suits.

Most children are creative. Too many adults try stunting that growth. Another story, another article. As such, we waited for the bus and it was late. I never sat down. After a long bike ride I wanted to rest.

Some said I should not ride because I was out of practice. What is the cure for that? Practice. Some hills were challenging. I made it in the expected time. My muscles were a little stiff. Bicycling and swimming are activities you can do to an old age.

You won't get old if you do new things. The bus arrived and our first grader was the first one off the bus. It was exciting seeing him. He is fascinated by the prospect of meeting new classmates. I was like that and adults made fun of me for it.

That's their problem. Not everyone he will meet is going to be nice. So far, so good. He came home and built a school for his cats. I helped build this school. Interestingly, he put the cats in there and they jumped out leaving the structure intact.

When he placed the stuffed animal in "Cat College" (the closest name I could think of. It was alliterative and he wanted them in first grade.) the wall fell over. I was not there late. There are two facets to a bike ride: getting there and returning. I left before the rain seeing deer on the bike trail.

Certain parents noted there will not be as many excited adults at the bus stop later in the week. I shall go out of town and might greet him at some point this year. I learned first grade students are not allowed on the monkey bars while second graders are. Not sure that is fair.

If it is for liability- anyone can fall. I don't like how children are given age restrictions. They can climb after school and I look forward to seeing his continuing trajectory.