Out to Lunch

She has always been one of our best. I get phone calls from parents requesting their child be able to ride her bus. They are always heartbroken when I tell them it doesn’t really work that way. The kids love her...she loves the kids. We tend to love those who love us. She loves them all, no matter. And I think that is why they love her so much. John said it like this, “We love because He first loved us.”

I watch them get on and off her bus every day. She knows them all by name. She knows where they live and she can tell you about their family. She hugs every single one of them when they enter and when they exit. As the person responsible for buses, it gives me peace to see how she approaches every child, every day. As one of the people responsible every day for the care of those nine hundred and fifty hearts, it gives me joy. And as one of the people responsible for dealing with the mistakes….it gives me hope. I see a different side of the children when they are with her. 

She knows how to go above and beyond. So I wasn’t at all surprised when one of the teachers stopped me in the cafeteria the other day. She called me over and said, “Is she the best bus driver ever or what?” I asked her what happened and she pointed to the end of the lunch table, where that bus driver sat, eating lunch with one of the littles that rides her bus. My reply, “Do you think that little girl  is in good hands?”

Aristotle said, ‘To educate the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.’ I don’t think anyone could ever measure the education of the heart. Just last week I saw a bus driver eating lunch with one of her children, a teacher attend one of her student’s birthday parties, another teacher taking a student around to trick or treat, and another attending a child’s ball game. Countless other sacrifices were made to educate the hearts of children all over the world. 

I sat down with that bus driver as she waited outside my office. She had an appointment for a parent teacher conference that she was waiting on. I had a minute, so we sat and talked. She told me a little about her own life experiences as a child. As it ended, she shared this with me, “Mr. Walker, I love these kids because they always love me back.” There she goes educating hearts again. Yes...I do believe they are in good hands. 

There is no denying her impact. She is more than a bus driver. They are all more than bus drivers, more than CNP workers, more than custodians, plant managers, aides, and office staff. They are more than teachers and administrators. They are educators of the heart. And more than anything, for my son and for those nine hundred and fifty that I am responsible for every day, my prayer is that their hearts are educated well. The rest will come. But if we fail to educate the heart well, will an educated mind matter?