Crazy but True

The people that ride the city bus that I take to and from work are almost exclusively business people. It's rare that anyone says a word to each other. Most people sit and stare out the windows, sleep, or - like me - have headphones on and read a book. There's rarely a noise to be heard other than the engine noise or the heaters blasting, trying to fight the cold air that seeps in through the poorly-sealed bus doors.

Yesterday, a guy got on the bus with his approximately 3-year-old daughter in tow. Thinking about my own 3-year-old, I figured she would be chatty and exuberant, and extremely bored with sitting after the initial excitement wore off. I wouldn't have cared, but I knew that some of the other bus riders might not be so tolerant, so I started thinking about what toys I had in my purse that I could offer her if her dad hadn't brought enough distractions. (It seems to me, in my experience, that guys don't often think about those sorts of things.)

Her dad had brought her a snack - a staple when travelling with young kids. Good for him! Then she finished her snack, and...nothing. Her dad stared out the window, not speaking, and I expected her to start looking for her own entertainment. Nope - she sat there quietly, looking around at the other passengers, and didn't say a word until 20 minutes later, when we stopped at the first park and ride, and she asked him if that was their stop. Her dad told her that they would get off at the next stop, and again - not another word from her. By the time we got to the second and final stop, she had nodded off, sitting upright, and her dad carried her limp body off the bus.

Wow! I was flabbergasted. I have to believe she was just very small for her age, because it's impossible to imagine a 3-year-old behaving like that. At least mine. I'm breaking out in hives just thinking about trying to take Sammy on the bus with me.