D.O.P.-T. (yesterday)

[weofodthignen]

For some reason the regular bus just never came; only a series of expresses sailing past me, until one finally wheezed up, loaded with long-suffering passengers. So I walked home from the bus stop as all the kids were being escorted to school: Dad leading daughter in her plaid uniform pinafore dress, with a shock of curly hair; Mom jogging to keep pace with two sub-teen boys on push-scooters, all zipping along the sidewalk; the same dad I've seen for years, cycling along with baby trailer in tow, covered with a yellow rain canopy. It reminded me how the neighborhood has been refilling with children in recent years.