Only Silence

They say the sound most people like to hear more than any other is their own voice. For most of my adult life I have agreed with that statement, but this morning I have a very different opinion. Today, a routine that has been a huge part of my life for the past decade has changed…sadly never to return. 

The Car Rider Line.

Years ago, both of our granddaughters, Little One and Sweet Caroline, attended a local church pre-school from nine to noon. The first year, both girls went to school three days a week; the second year both went five. At first the entire commute from leaving our house, sitting in line, and returning home was easy – taking about an hour in the morning and the same in the afternoon. While waiting in line, I’d listen to the radio or try working on my column, but with the line moving so quickly, there really wasn’t enough time even to finish an opening paragraph. Not having enough time would soon change.

One driver, double car rider lines.

The third year, Little One started in elementary school one county away so my daily school shuttling routine increased from two hours a day to three. Once we dropped off her older sister, Caroline and I had a little more than an hour before her school started at the local church. The extra time afforded us room for a stop at our local breakfast place for a biscuit or little treat, before heading out to get into the car rider line. For five days a week, we shared this special bonding time just between us. Unfortunately, like most things in life with young children, that time was fleeting. But as our two granddaughters grew so did time spent in school car rider lines. Our commute would change yet again the very next year.

Triple car rider lines.

With their mom getting an additional job and unable to take her oldest daughter to school, the task was handed to me. I looked forward each morning talking with her on our trip to the Charter Academy after dropping the Girly Girls off and in the afternoon after picking her up. With this additional car rider line, shuttling kids to and from school (and to after school events), the trip time had increased to almost four hours. When their older sister was able to drive herself, the time spent in lines decreased back to only a couple of hours a day. 

No more lines!

Two years ago, I took a substitute teacher position at the Girly Girls elementary school. By doing so, I was able to walk them in in the morning, and in the afternoon, they waited for me in the cafeteria. The reprieve from car rider lines only lasted for one year.

The last year.

The start time for elementary school is an hour earlier than it is for middle school. No longer could I drive Little One. That task fell upon someone else. But I still had Sweet Caroline for one more year. And what a year it was! Each morning, we shared endless stories, jokes, words of wisdom, and we ate a biscuit or treat from our favorite breakfast place in the car while waiting in the parking lot for school to open at seven. In the afternoon, we both waited in the middle school car rider line, but I didn’t care. I enjoyed spending the half an hour with just Caroline. She’d tell me about her day, and I’d do the same. Unfortunately, like with her two older sisters, I knew this special time together was coming to a close.

This morning. 

This morning, there was no small talk about how Caroline’s day would go. No topics of interest or observations arose from the backseat. There were no witty jokes or pearls of wisdom sent forth into the air by Yours Truly. And, sadly, for the first time in nine years, the stop at our local breakfast place didn’t occur. There was none of that during my drive to school this morning.

There was only the sound of deafening silence coming from the backseat. Leaving me with the radio…and fond memories of a time too quickly past.