Speaking of School and Combis...

My oldest son is now 13 years old, and this year has started in the 1st grade of secondary classes. It's the equivalent of 7th grade - middle school or junior high - in the US. The previous school the boys were enrolled in only included primary classes, so we had no choice but to look into new schools. These new school is located here in Miraflores, as I believe I mentioned before, and seems to be a really good school - lots of discipline and rule enforcement, which we have found lacking in the past.

However, it seems that in secondary school, the kids are a lot more independent. Which, don't get me wrong, is a very good thing. Except, they all take the bus to school and home. Alone. This is not something that makes me happy. And no, this isn't one of those situations where my kids is saying 'But Mooooooooom, all the other kids are riding the bus!'. No, this is a situation where my husband is telling me that we're making a sissy pariah out of our son by taking him to school and picking him up each day.

Well, the good news is that there's a combi that runs literally from our front door to the entrance of the school. In the evenings coming home, he'd have to walk down to the opposite corner to get the bus coming home, but still, it's right there within sight of the school entrance. And then get dropped off right in front of the house.

The bad news is that, of course, this isn't the ONLY bus that runs by that corner, and coming home he'll have to be extra careful that he gets on the right bus or he might end up in Chorrillos.

So, we made several trial runs, riding the bus with him, but letting him flag it down and make the decision. And then last night, he was on his own. I suppose I don't have to tell you, I was a nervous wreck. He should have been home by 630pm, and when he wasn't we called his cell phone - he was still by the road, waiting for the bus. He said the buses go by so fast, he was having trouble telling which one was the right one. By this time it was nearly dark - so we told him just to flag down every bus, and ask them if they go on our street. 20 minutes later, he was home!

This is such a huge step in the life of a parent - and of a child. On the one hand, it's great knowing that my kid is maturing, and growing and that we've taught him well enough that he can handle doing this on his own. On the other hand, as a former juvenile delinquent, my mind is full of visions of him catching the bus to the beach instead of school, or taking off to his friend's house without telling us. I guess it's just another one of those times when we've got to trust him to do the right thing... right?