It was raining this morning and, frankly, my mood matched the weather. I drove my two daughters to the end of the block to catch their bus to school and parked about 15 yards from the bus stop so as not to impede any cars coming up to the stop sign. Cara, my 5-year-old, got out first and moseyed up to the bus stop to wait. Chloe Jane, my 7-year-old, didn’t quite have all her stuff together so while I was helping her, the bus arrived.
Cara shouted back at us, “Chloe Jane! The bus is here!” And Chloe Jane quickly ran off to board the bus while I stayed at the car. I saw Chloe Jane and all the other kids board the bus, but Cara, the youngest of all the bus riders, remained on the sidewalk. She was the only child left to board the bus but apparently was refusing to get on.
She turned back to me and shouted in the same tone she had just used to call for her sister, “Daddy! Hug and kiss!” She made the demand despite the fact that I was about 15 yards away and the bus was ready to go. So while the bus driver waited, I sprinted to the bus stop, picked her up, gave her the hug and kiss she required and set her down on the first step of the bus.
I no longer felt the rain.