Ambush?

Ok. So I'm at the bus stop this morning, Last day of school. A mom takes me aside and asks if I have any water ballons or water guns. Um, no. We are a Girly Girl house, like totally girly. Why do you ask? Seems that the parents ambush the kids as they get off the bus on the last day. Supplied with this new knowledge I start to panic. If little miss Girly Girl P gets sprayed she'll have a fit, or more likely a melt down. So. Not. Good. I can see the total fun in this. Just not for my child. What to do?

I don't have to wait long to come up with an answer. The phone rings and I'm needed to come up to school with a pizza cutter and be the mom in charge of the pizza party in P's classroom. The mom on duty can't make it. Whew! The little Girly Girl can ride home with me.

So Girly Girl T and I get our pizza wheel and head off to school. I'm so glad I was called in, not just for the easy avoidance of the bus situation, but it's a fun time! I'm the only mom there so little T gets asked to be a helper, gets pizza and a cupcake too, grabs a seat and is a kindergartner herself for an hour- a role she totally delights in.



We get hugs from Mrs. M, say good-byes to the Spanish and Art teachers and get a hug from the principal as we walk down the sidewalk toward our car. Then we get stuck behind all the buses leaving and try to get back to our stop so we can see the action from the safety of our car. Drats! We get stuck behind another bus one block from our stop, but we get to see their attack. And WOW! I'm now so glad P is safe in the car with me. Can we say a mob of about 30 parents armed with hundreds of water balloons, super soakers and big plastic tubs of water, cans of silly string... Each kid is thoroughly soaked as they get off the bus. Nobody is spared. It's insane. And it's all totally in good fun, but I know my child and this experience would have been disastrous for her. Here eyes were wide as saucers as she watched what was transpiring out her car window. The crowd cleared. The bus moved and we were able to turn onto our street and see the remnants of the ambush that took place at our stop moments earlier. Just as involved and crazy. Whew, crisis averted. So when did this tradition start???