itcouldhappen

well, once again, (like always)…i was right. about the field trip that is. i got off that bus and inhaled the biggest breath of fresh air i believe to have ever been taken. after have being on the bright yellow vomit carrier for over 5 hours that day, i was ready for a margarita.

at about 6am i was looking up at the ceiling, wondering what i had gotten myself into. i was about to climb on a bus with 20 something 7 year olds. i brought myself to accept that everything was going to be ok, its for the good of the school…because they needed chaperones, and aside from that, tyler really wanted me to go….apparently having your mom tag along is still cool in early elementary school. so i fell off the bed into the shower, went through the motions until we arrived at school!

when we got to tyler’s class…late as usual, they have come to expect that from us, ms. c was in the middle of her “you better behave or else” spiel. i sent tyler to her desk and relaxed in the rocking chair padded with crayon stains and one pink pillow. comfy enough for me though, i could have slept on a bed of nails at that moment. after bathroom breaks and shoes were tied, we were on our way to the bus.

as im climbing the three stairs to the musty cabin, i pass by a geriatric…ok, i say to myself…this could be worse, this could be worse. i did actually say it twice, so i could make myself believe it. as i settle into my itsy bitsy brown vinyl seat, i hear her teacher say “boys and girls to the back, we may need to sit 3 to a seat” what? why? theres 25 rows, per the numbers above each seat, why in gods name would they need to sit 3 to a seat? are they preparing the children for knoxvilles public transportation? at that very moment i look out the dirty rectangular window in time to see two other classes charging towards me….or the bus? whatever. so now the situation is 57 students, 9 or 10 parents, 3 teachers, being driven by george burns, down a windy, one lane grave road, too look out the windows for deer, turkeys, and bears. no fear, i look down at tyler, and shes grinning from ear to ear, so i take a deep breath, and swear to enjoy. then something started to smell like cat piss so i changed my swear to a promise, and enjoy myself to not complaining.

tyler is a car sleeper. just as any time before, she was asleep before we had left the parking lot. so with my knees crammed firmly into the seat in front of me, i layed my head down and did the same. i woke up about an hour later when i felt a little drool drippage, and started carrying on a conversation about gas mileage with a teacher. a few moments later we had arrived. we all shuffled off the bus, for bathroom breaks, and back on the bus we went.

the cades cove loop takes about 2 hours to drive through with little to no traffic, we have been several times, and gotten in and out in about that….this trip was different, since it was a “learning experience” we had to stop the bus and unload to go into the primitive churches and old dilapidated houses and barns. if you have ever been you know it is very easy to see deer, they are pretty much everywhere. but to the kids it was miraculous….all 19+ of the deer got screamed at in shrill little voices, fingers were going everywhere, i thought i was going to lose an eye at one point.

when lunchtime came i was relieved, i was starving, even if it meant i had to eat the same kind of smooshed turkey sandwich and potato chip crumbs that i had packed for tyler on so many field trips before. the kids scattered across the open field for a picnic, tyler and i sat with a little group of her friends, i figured id hear some pretty good gossip, not really. after a little boy informed me that my dr pepper was a soft drink, which was prohibited in the 1st grade, i took a swig and said “it sure is good though” i think he gave me a go to hell in training look, it definitely needed some work, but i knew what he meant.

after lunch the trip was pretty much over, we finished driving the loop and got the hell outta there! so all i all, it wasnt that bad, and the kids had fun…thats all that matters….well that, and me living to tell about it.

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