NB Online: The School Run
NB Vlogger, Suzie Simons, a visually impaired mum of two, explains how she takes her children to school every morning and why her daughter must wear roller skates for the journey!
Suzie Simons (SS)
Danny (D)
Hannah (H)
SS: We are running late for school. I have used this app called Bus Times and then I go to my favourite stop, six minutes guys, let’s go, go, go. Come on, let’s get this show on the road.
M:Why are we in such a rush?
SS:Because our bus is in six minutes.
H:I’ve forgotten my bag.
SS:Hi I’m Suzie. I’m a visually impaired mum of two who has just moved house. Since I moved house I now get two buses to school every morning, and it has been a lot to get used to because we used to live at the end of the road of the school, so it was a less than five minute walk and now we have got a good half an hour, 40 minute journey to school every day. The kids have got used to it. If I let my daughter wear roller skates there is no grumbling at all.
SS:Three minutes.
DYikes!
When it comes to using the buses I do have to rely on the kids a little bit more than I would like to. Although the app that I use, Bus Times, it does tell me that the bus is going to be there in one minute. Still two minutes which means it is probably a bit delayed by something.
I worry about being late a lot. Getting the journey right was something I really struggled with and we would get to the bus stop and unfortunately our first bus is only every fifteen minutes. I like to leave when there is five or six minutes left. My kids tell me ‘the bus is coming’ and I just shake my stick in the air and hope for the best. No, not really. We are only two minutes from the bus stop thankfully. The only problem is that if something happens and we miss the bus then we have to wait another 15 minutes which is a disaster.
We are getting off this bus and then we get on another bus to get to school. Can you go to favourites and tell me why it is not there please? Danny is just seeing if he can find the bus stop so we can see how long the next bus is.
D:I see it.
When I was 17 I immediately passed my driving test and now I obviously don’t have the luxury of driving, and getting to school now is two buses. But it is incredibly liberating to be able to do that on my own with the kids. We want to be independent as a family and to be able to do it altogether is really important to us.
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