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PAGE 4 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1992 The school bus is a big step for a fourâ€"yearâ€"old Not knowing whether to expect a wildlyâ€"hysterical scene or a calm, matterâ€"ofâ€"fact demeanor, we arrived at Conestoga Mall, found the bus display, registered, and were invited on a bus ready to roll. Jordan calmly led the way, walked up to the open door, aaaaand...waddya think, got on the bus, Gus, just like he‘s been doing it all his life. That‘s our boy. We proceeded to find four seats near the front, were greeted along with the rest by a wonderful, congenial driver, and went through the process verbally. Jordan listened intently. Drew tried climbing into the seat behind me. Nah, the short one, he‘s not a candidate, you‘ve got a couple of years yet, I soothed the driver. Then we were off, for a 10â€"minute ride up Country Squire Rd. circling back to the mall for doughnuts and drinks. Jordan didn‘t have a lot of questions. At first, he wanted to know what to do if he got on the bus and couldn‘t find a seat. Then he decided he didn‘t want to sit with a stranger beside him. And would there be anyone at school to meet them when they got there? And why does the driver have a seat belt but the kids don‘t? All terrific, legitimate queries. In a fourâ€"yearâ€"old‘s world, getting on the school bus is definitely a big step, both figuratively and literally. And though they are also aiding their own cause with Sunday‘s preview, we thank the bus operators for their care and concern, and also for their appreciation of the big step it is, come September, for all those tiny feet. We now have a son who, at least 75 per cent, understands what taking the bus to school is all about, and in very short time will thrill to the daily ride, and the meeting of new friends, and school itself, and the unfolding of a whole new frontier in his life. And the bus drivers are breathing a sigh of relief, that it is Jordan they will be picking up next week, and not Drew, who at last sighting was crawling under aisle 14, seat two and heading south quickly A gentle, sensitive child, Jordan often thinks things out well beyond his years. And his two main concerns prior to Sunday‘s voyage were that he wasn‘t big enough to climb the bus steps himself, and hey, worse yet, that he had to ride the yellow rocket alone even if he could get on. mall problems to us, but large in the mind of a young lad who knows his schedule isn‘t going to be the same this fall. And with routine being just short of an obsession with the Big J, surely dozens of thoughts were racing around his head. Naturally we tried to allay those fears as best we could by talking things out and hyping up Sunday‘s event. And to be fair, it worked. Every hour, on the hour, he asked if it was time for the bus ride yet. We reminded him it was at 3 p.m., a little while after lunch. Finally, when he asked at 1 p.m., Drew pinchâ€"hit for us with the negatory. And one Beth and I enthusiastically embraced. Oh, and Drew too, who will go along with anything as long as the bottom line is not "up to bed." Jordan, however, the main man, well, it was his day and we weren‘t quite sure what to expect. The idea of course is to familiarize the young tots with the school bus and the regulations involved before the actual day comes. A dress rehearsal, on wheels. You see, Jordan will be attending junior kindergarten at St. Thomas this fall, and to prep him and others like him entering the system, the Waterloo County School Bus Operators held their fifth annual School Bus Day around the region. Sunday was a big day in fourâ€"yearâ€"old Jordan‘s life. Well, actually it was a big day for all the Campbell family, as we joined our firstâ€"born in taking his first step towards attending school. Who knows, in two years‘ time, the kids may be in seat belts, The Fairway Group Incorporated 215 Fairway Rd. S., Kitchener, Ont. Waterioo Chronicle Second Class Mail Registration Number 5540 Published every Wednesday by And when I say step, I mean step