Oh, Not That One!
My workday started with a text while I was still at home. Would you be able to come in a little early? Translation, we want you to cover a route that leaves the garage before your normal starting time. So in I go to receive my marching orders.
Upon hearing what route they wanted me to do, three things became obvious. One, it was a route I did not know. Two, it was pitch black outside. And three, it was the most challenging bus for me to drive out of the seven bus types I drive. Driving a rear engine bus in always more difficult for me, but throw in streets I am not familiar with and darkness and my stomach looks like a butterfly refuge.
Ok, back to rear engine busses. The issue I have with them are that they are more difficult to turn. If you don't pay attention, you can easily hit a curb or worse. Sometimes it means you have to wait until there are no cars around to make sure you have enough room. Sometimes you need to say, "Not doing that." I might add that I am a bit of a perfectionist and hitting a curb is not ok with me. On with my story.
Once I was in the bus and driving the route, I began to relax and started to reflect on the good parts of that particular style of bus. That type of bus drives really nice. It is heavier so it takes bumps much better than other busses and it has a lot of power. It is also has more room for the students. Another thought I had is that if you can drive this bus well the others are a piece of cake to drive. I think it does make me a better driver. We often want every thing to be easy but if we never do the hard stuff we will not grow. I think continuing to grow in our abilities and character is a necessity if we want to live a fulfilling life.
Anyway, later I started to think about this in relation to people. Every person has there good points and their not so good points. We will probably be aware of their weaknesses but our focus should be on the positive aspects of who they are. Doing that, I believe, will help us to have better relationships. I won't belabor the point, but suffice it to say focusing solely on negative things is not good.
Something else happened that morning that I think is worthy of mentioning. I was picking up high school students and got to one of the stops right on time according to the route sheet. The students got on but then I saw two students coming for the bus across an open field. One was running, the other was walking like he was strolling along the beach. The first student got on the bus and the other was still a block away. I thought maybe I should just drive away. If he didn't care about making the bus why should I? My kindness prevailed and I waited. Just as he got to the bus another student I had not seen turned the corner. I can't be sure, but what appeared to be indifference might have been a concern for another student. Oops. Later I found out that I was actually earlier than the regular bus driver.
This is the thought that came to me. "You don't know what you don't know." Maybe my story will help you give others the benefit of the doubt when you are tempted to make a quick judgement.
Just a thought.
Next week: What I learned from the geranium wintering in my garage. "Let Me Help You."
Happy New Year!
Upon hearing what route they wanted me to do, three things became obvious. One, it was a route I did not know. Two, it was pitch black outside. And three, it was the most challenging bus for me to drive out of the seven bus types I drive. Driving a rear engine bus in always more difficult for me, but throw in streets I am not familiar with and darkness and my stomach looks like a butterfly refuge.
Ok, back to rear engine busses. The issue I have with them are that they are more difficult to turn. If you don't pay attention, you can easily hit a curb or worse. Sometimes it means you have to wait until there are no cars around to make sure you have enough room. Sometimes you need to say, "Not doing that." I might add that I am a bit of a perfectionist and hitting a curb is not ok with me. On with my story.
Anyway, later I started to think about this in relation to people. Every person has there good points and their not so good points. We will probably be aware of their weaknesses but our focus should be on the positive aspects of who they are. Doing that, I believe, will help us to have better relationships. I won't belabor the point, but suffice it to say focusing solely on negative things is not good.
Something else happened that morning that I think is worthy of mentioning. I was picking up high school students and got to one of the stops right on time according to the route sheet. The students got on but then I saw two students coming for the bus across an open field. One was running, the other was walking like he was strolling along the beach. The first student got on the bus and the other was still a block away. I thought maybe I should just drive away. If he didn't care about making the bus why should I? My kindness prevailed and I waited. Just as he got to the bus another student I had not seen turned the corner. I can't be sure, but what appeared to be indifference might have been a concern for another student. Oops. Later I found out that I was actually earlier than the regular bus driver.
This is the thought that came to me. "You don't know what you don't know." Maybe my story will help you give others the benefit of the doubt when you are tempted to make a quick judgement.
Just a thought.
Next week: What I learned from the geranium wintering in my garage. "Let Me Help You."
Happy New Year!
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