I don't know why it is but most people think Henry is cute when he's at his bossiest. I had to go to the city today and I took Henry with me so he could have a bus ride. His first ever. He was so excited about it that he allowed me to push him in the stroller to the bus stop. He even waited patiently on the seat at the stop until the bus arrived. He didn't try to walk out into traffic or throw his toy fire engine out on the road or at a passerby.
We boarded the bus and he chose his seat right next to the window. I sat beside him. The bus took off and he was completely mesmerised. His eyes roamed over the surroundings, checking out the air vents, the windows, the upholstery on the seats, the buzzer and the driver. A gentleman boarded the bus at the next stop and went to take a seat right across the aisle from us. Henry, for some reason, felt that he should not take that seat and yelled to him "you can't sit in that seat". The man looked over at Henry and very politely said "Well, how about you and me swap places and I take your window seat?" To which Henry replied "No, thanks. I'm fine here". The man then stretched out his hand to Henry and invited him to shake it. Henry did. For the rest of the trip into the city Henry kept peering past me at the man across the aisle and grinning at him. That gentleman was equally taken with Henry and made a point of telling him goodbye as we came to our stop.
The trip home was just as much fun and Henry managed to win over another gentleman who helped me aboard with the stroller. This man was middle aged and in awe of Henry's fascination with trucks and machinery (Henry squealed with delight at each truck we passed). The man told me stories of his own sons when they were little and how much they loved the same things as Henry. He said to me "It's so great to watch them when they're like that. It makes me wonder all the time about which point we start to lose our enthusiasm for the simple things in life. Why it is that we get so bogged down in trying to make it through life that we forget to be excited about a bus ride".
I have been thinking about his comments all day. He's so right. We tend to think of it as having to catch public transport rather than an adventure.
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2 comments:
yeah, public transport can be a big adventure - but it can also be a big headache. Especially when you have a small child and a pram, and a nappy bag. The number of times I had to carry pram onto a non-wheelchair friendly bus and juggle baby and bag whilst paying for the ticket. Half of the bus drivers won't help because they could injure their back. The post in the middle of the doorway also inhibits easy access! I made this comment to Brisbane Transport when they were doing surveys - you can't even contact Transinfo before hand to find out if the bus is a wheelchair friendly bus, you have to get the number for the depot! (rant, rant, rant....) But Mim loves bus and train rides -we are going on one tomorrow.
We have free buses because of the university here. When my girls were little they could have ridden those buses all day long.
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