Of Pimples, School Bags and Band-Aids: Aboard the TSRS bus-sy

I didn't know mornings were this pretty. The nocturnal animal that I am, I always missed this part of a day when as they say ' the sun rises from the east'. I just could never make my lazy self to rise and shine with the initial rays. Now I am forced to do this and more.

With the first born starting school, I am up early in the AM. 6 is wakey-wakey time for me now which might be regular for several others but is 2 hours too early for me. Two tiffins, one child to bathe and feed and the self to look sane enough for the bus stop parent greetings! This is all that I can manage within an hour. What with the schools rule of parents accompanying a toddler to school for the first few days in the bus? It proved to be a blessing in disguise, it not only gave me inspiration to write this blog but also live the good ol' days.

Now school kids these days are poles apart from the time I was a school kid. We wore pleated skirts which almost touched the ankles. They wear shorts that are so high they don't have a measure in the Centimeters for it. The language they speak is also alien to most of us who winded up school in the early 90's. While we were stuck with 'haww, usne tujhe aisa kaha' and 'arre, tu meri best freind hain' and some more of 'chal, aaj college road se samosa khane chalte hain'. The kids of this millennium are way too cool with 'Come on, I ain't going to his party' and 'Eeks, like get your smug face off me, dude' and some more of 'Chill mate/babes, see you at starbucks in the PM'. I heard them all and understood just a bit.

Some of them, rather a lot of them have red, yello, printed, polka dotted Bandages on their knees, elbows, chin, finger and even cheeks. I wonder how so many managed to get hurt at the same time. The pimples are an even phenomenon on the adolescent ones but so diverse is their language.

The energy of the school bus of today's times has 'coolness' borrowed from the mornings, it seems. While there are those group of 9th grade girls with cool, neon bangles and funky, bright backpacks; there is also a group of 6th grade boys reading the morning newspaper and discussing their science project. Both are conversing in a lingo I cannot decipher. The former because I am too backward and the latter because the conversation is too smart for lesser mortals.

Even the toddlers on this bus are cooler then their worried moms who are accompanying them on their debut trip. Mine chooses a seat next to her neighbor-cum-classmate-cum-male-acquaintance(she says he isn't a friend cos boy's aren't so), buckles the seat belt and holds the front latch of the bus for support. Me, the mom struggles and shuffles in the bus seat almost till the school gates open. She walks with poise, holds the neighbor cum classmate cum acquaintance's hand, puts her school bag on and waves bye from the pit stop in school. I wipe the tear off and wonder! A 10th grader comes to me and tells me to chill and go home for a cuppa. She even pats my shoulder. I am so surprised at the grown-up support from the school kid that I am forced to say in their lingo and spell the abbreviation loud- OMG.

Where was I while this generation next was growing up? Not only are they cool but they are also so strong, informed, intelligent, confident and all the other good adjectives. The bus was a good trip, thanks to these new insights for me. Good work, I must say! Kudos to today's schools and parents alike!