Month: March 2016

Saint Patrick’s Day

/ Leah Williams / Leave a comment

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Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  Most people think of Saint Patrick’s Day as a drinking holiday.  Whenever I think of Saint Patrick’s Day, I think of my family.  We are actually Irish!

When I was little, my mom used to make green food for dinner.  Green mashed potatoes, green milk, green cookies, everything.  She would put green food coloring in the toilet bowls to make us think that a leprechaun had come to visit our house.  It was all in good fun.

When I was in 7th grade we were given a culminating project.  I chose to do my family tree.  I was especially curious about my paternal grandfather’s line.  I grew up with the knowledge that we were Irish to the bone.  My entire paternal line was Irish.  It was after I graduated high school that I found the truth.  Yes, my grandfather is Irish.  However, we can’t prove his lineage at this point.  We are stuck at a dead end.

However, like many genealogists, I found that the belief’s that you grow up with are just as important as the truth.  Just because I can’t prove that we are Irish just yet, does not mean that we can’t love the Irish and learn about the Irish and their struggles.  I also discovered that my paternal grandmother was not Irish at all!  She was German, VERY German!  However, when she married my grandfather, she took his name heart and soul and became just as Irish.  I’m still searching, as all genealogists do.  The searching will never end.

So on this Saint Patrick’s Day, I fondly remember my roots and hope that you do too!

 

Stand Up!

/ Leah Williams / Leave a comment

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In my previous marriage, I did not stand up for myself.  Now, that’s all I do!  I stand up for myself and encourage other to stand up for themselves.  Honestly, I have learned that when it comes to my family, my friends and myself, it is the most important thing in my life.  To stand up for yourself and for what is right.

Teaching the kids that I drive to stand up for themselves is incredibly important.  Most people thing that being a school bus driver, is just that, driving.  Wrong!  Last week, one of my high school girls was telling me about a problem she was having with a boy.  I encouraged her to stand up for herself and walk away from the situation.  By the end of the week, she had done just that, and felt great about herself for doing it.

I also taught my daughter to stand up last week.  My daughter is in 7th grade, so drama is a daily occurrence.  However, this particular day, she was approached by a boy and “asked out”.  Unfortunately, this boy had just broken up with one of her best friends.  She was confused and did not know how to handle the situation.  I told her that she could not break her friend’s heart by dating this boy.  I informed her that one of the major “friends rules” is that you NEVER date a friend’s ex.  She did me proud the next day and went and told him off!

Standing up for what you believe in and finding out what you stand for in your life is probably one of the hardest lessons to learn.  It is usually learned by making a lot of mistakes and getting your heart broken a few times, but it can be done.  Standing up also makes you feel good about yourself, like you can hold your head high because you did what feels good with no regrets.  With encouragement from adults in their lives, kids can make it through to adulthood with a sense of who they are and what they are going to stand for in their lives.

So STAND UP!

Adventures in School Bus Driving

/ Leah Williams / Leave a comment

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I have been driving a school bus for 8 years.  It is both challenging and rewarding at the same time.  The good kids, the bad kids, the kids who don’t really care, the kids who sleep the entire ride home.

I have been driving the same route for 3 years.  Which means that, for the most part, I have been driving the same kids for that long.  Therefore, I am pretty much vested in these kids.  I worry about them, I route for them, I joke with them, I discipline them, I love on them.  I wear many hats with “my kids”.  It breaks my heart when they get on the bus crying because they scraped their knee right before boarding or because their boyfriend broke up with them after only a month of dating.  I get excited for them when they enter driver’s education courses or get an A on a test.

I say all this because a lot of people think that being a bus driver is just driving.  It is not.  Bus driving is a passion.  If you don’t like kids, don’t drive a school bus.  I know so many driver’s that should not be in this profession because they don’t like kids.  Bus driving takes patience, attention to detail, hand-eye coordination, compassion, stubbornness, and most of all love.  You are these kids’ babysitter, teacher, nurse, entertainment, counselor, chauffeur , friend and mom all rolled into one.

I also say all this because bus driver’s don’t get paid enough.  The pay varies depending on where you live, but here in the Seattle area bus drivers can make anywhere from $12/hr to $25/hr.  If you drive for one of the big contractors you will make less than if you work directly for a school district.  Considering what we go through on a daily basis, we definitely don’t make enough!

Consider that we work roughly 9 months out of the year.  Most older drivers that are getting ready to retire will take those 9 months and just deal with the lack of a paycheck in the summer.  However, younger drivers, with a family, are required to get a second job during those other 3 months.  Our children just can’t survive on us only working 9 months.  It is a stressful time when you don’t know what you are going to do for the summer months, waiting to here if you got the job or not.  There are very limited positions that only work in the summer.  And the pay for those summer jobs are far less than what we make during the school year.  My summer job is driving summer camp kids around and my pay is 36% less than what I make during the school year.  Big difference, but it pays the bills.

Another thing to consider is that most drivers do not work an 8 hour day.  Your typical driver will wake up around 5 in the morning.  He/she will get to work around 6 and usually work until 9 or so taking kids to school.  Most drivers will then have a few hours off.  If they are one of the few lucky ones to be able to pick up some hours in the middle of the day, they are just that, lucky.  The drivers then come back around 1 or so and finish off their day taking kids home until around 4:30 or so.  Add up these hours and you have between 6-6 1/2 hours per day.  Roughly 30-32 hours per week.  And this, only 9 months out of the year.  Of course, if you work directly for a school district, like me, you do get benefits.  Full time benefits for part time work.  This is a definite plus!

So, back to my point…in order to be a school bus driver, you need to have a passion for it!  Don’t just do it to receive a paycheck, because the pay just isn’t enough!

BTW…the above photo is of my real-life parallel park job on the Seattle waterfront!  (Impressive hu?)

Hi there

/ Leah Williams / Leave a comment

So, I’m sitting at the orthodontist office waiting for my daughter to get her braces on. She is 13, therefore, completely over dramatic about the entire process. Thinking about what I should write for my first blog post. I suppose I should say a little about myself…so here goes.

I am born and raised Seattle. Parents divorced when I was 6 and don’t have any relationship with my father. Married at age 21. Two kids later, divorced at age 33. I am a survivor of DV and am a stronger person for it.

Before the divorce I was a stay at home mom. Forced to go back to work, I became a school bus driver because it gave me the flexibility to still be around for my young kids without a whole lot of day care time. I met my current husband here.

I got remarried 3 years ago and this relationship is better than any that I have had with any man in my life. Let’s just say that he spoils me rotten. He cooks, he cleans, he grocery shops…like I said, he spoils me. He provides for my kids when I cannot and their sperm donor won’t.

My husband came with 3 girls of his own and 1 granddaughter. Since we got married, our family has grown by another granddaughter and one grandson. Someone at work has nicknamed us the Brady’s, and I can’t really disagree!

I love my Seahawks. Don’t even get me started on the Forty-whiners! I have been working on my family tree for about 30 years (off and on). I go through spurts. I also make rag rugs, can fruit stuff, cross stitch and photography. These are some of the things I will talk about, I suppose, as well as just every day life. Don’t know if anyone will care, we shall see!