I Felt Like a Fool! Now it’s a gift that makes me laugh

I was getting extremely frustrated! I was honking my horn and flashing my lights, but the school bus wouldn’t stop to let my daughter off!! How could they not notice me?

The last few years, we’d been meeting the bus at a crossroads after school so our daughter wouldn’t have to be the last one off and spend over an hour riding the bus home. This particular day I was feeling stressed because I was running late to the rendezvous point. As I crested the hill on our country road, I could see the bus down in the valley, already leaving our stop. Darn! So I chased after them. But despite my efforts, when they reached the next stop, my daughter did not get off. What the heck was going on??

Then I saw it. A sinking feeling hit the pit of my stomach. Another school bus was coming towards us from the opposite direction. Could that be her bus? In my panic of being late, I hadn’t paid attention to the bus number. I quickly turned around and followed it. Sure enough, it stopped at our normal meeting spot and my daughter hopped off.

I felt so humiliated and embarrassed! That other driver must think I’m crazy!! My first reaction was to pretend that it had never happened and to never tell anyone. But then I thought of how funny it would seem to someone watching. “Crazy Mom Stalks Bus!” What if I had gotten out of my car and walked up to the bus and confronted the driver? Oh my!!

So I shared the story with my daughter. We had a great laugh! Every once in a while one of us brings it up and we have another laugh.

What if we could get better at seeing the amusement in these embarrassing situations? Suddenly they go from a memory we want to forget to a funny moment that bonds us in laughter. Keep an eye out for opportunities to laugh at yourself. Be sure to share them with others.