Alex Commuting Alone

Has anyone ever noticed that their children are different from each other, even though they share practically the same genes?

Commuting Generally Going Well
Will and Alex have been commuting to and from school, most days, since January.  Sure, I pick them up on the two days a week that Alex has to get to judo after school.  I pick up Alex and one of their friends on Wednesday when Will stays behind with his friend for Science Club.   I bring them out to school when I have a meeting out that way once a week in the morning.  But mostly, they commute together, and meet up with or travel with their other two friends during the commute.  

One Day, Last Part of Journey, Alex is Alone
There is one day when Alex makes the last part of his journey home alone.  He and one of our friends leave school together, but then they split up to go to their respective homes.  This usually goes smoothly.  Except when it doesn't.  One time, there was some sort of lift or construction vehicle that had tipped over and was blocking the tram line.  So they kicked everyone off.  Alex's solution was good, as he was at a major transit hub, he hopped on the metro to get closer to home.  Then, because he had forgotten his key for his scooter and had to leave it at school, he walked home from the metro.  This took quite a while.  I was slightly concerned, but he made it home eventually.  

Lost Things
You would think that forgetting his scooter key might be the exception to keeping Alex and all of his stuff together.  But it is not.  He has also lost his metro card, twice.  He has lost his scooter lock, twice.  To be fair, he is not the only one who has lost his card.  Will lost his metro card a while ago.  Dan went online and requested a replacement.  Then Will found his metro card again.  When Alex lost his metro card, we figured it would be easy to request a replacement since it worked for Will's card.  However, when Dan tried to do this, the system told him that a card already existed for Alex and that we would have to go to the metro office to make a request for replacement.  Of course, the main office is currently closed due to metro improvement projects...  So, since Will had two cards, Alex is now the younger looking Will.  Yes, he is using one of Will's cards.  

You may wonder why it worked for Will's replacement and not Alex's.  Well, we finally figured it out.  When Dan requested the replacement for Will, he spelled William without the second "i."  So Alex is actually "William" and Will is now "Willam."  This has actually worked out pretty well.  Occasionally there are enforcing officials who check the tickets on the transportation.  And this did indeed happen during one of the boys' trips home.  Alex knew he didn't have his card and he was the other "Will."  I hear that when the ticket checking guys came by, Alex looked completely terrified that he would be found out as an imposter.  Of course, the worst thing that could happen is that he would get kicked off, taken to a metro office, and we would have to collect him and get fined 60 euro.  But really, the only things the ticket enforcers care about is if you are paying the correct fare and have a validated card.  They scanned the card, found it properly validated, and continued on to search for someone who hadn't paid their fare properly.  I feel, though, that the state of panic that he experienced may have encouraged Alex to be a bit more responsible about his card.  

Alex Commuting Alone
This brings us to the next Alex Commuting story.  Normally it is Will who has a cell phone and can use it to text or call if there is a problem.  He is older and sort of keeps track of his stuff more than Alex.  I can track him on his commute if I get worried.  Well, I can if he has actually kept his phone charged.  

But this week, Will is not here.  He is on a 4-day school residential trip.  Our friend, who Alex normally commutes with, had other afternoon plans on Wednesday.  As I had already spent the morning driving both boys and Will's large trip backpack to school, it was up to Alex to make it home completely on his own.  

As part of this epic journey, we gave Alex his phone with his new SIM card.  The first time he has had a phone that actually phones and works outside of WiFi.  

On the way to school, we reviewed his route home.  He was supposed to scooter over to the bus that brings him to the tram, then transfer over to the tram at a particular stop.  If for some reason, he missed the stop, it was ok, because the terminus of the bus was also a tram transfer stop that worked.  He would just stay on until the end of the bus route, not try to catch the bus going the other way to the first workable stop.

About 20 minutes after school finished, I got this text from Alex.

This is not the bus we talked about that goes to the tram!  This is the bus that goes to the train.  And it's a train strike day.  

I'm not sure if he actually meant "sniff" or if he meant "sncf" which is the train company. (Gare = Station).

Fortunately, the bus he was supposed to get on also goes to the SNCF Gare.  So he can take the 150 bus, but then switch over to the correct bus.  No problem, just extra time added to Alex's commute because he didn't get on the right bus the first time.  

So Alex successfully makes the bus switch.  And, being considerate, texts me to tell me this good news.  A little bit later, I get a new text.

Remember how I had discussed with Alex, in the morning, what he should do on the off chance that he misses his stop to transfer?  Yeah, he missed his stop and had to sit in a bunch of traffic until the end of the bus line to catch the tram at the later stop.

Fortunately, he made it home without any other incidents of closed-down transportation.  He also had his scooter, so he made it home from the tram stop without delay.  

The whole experience of missing two different transports is probably good for him.  Most likely next time, he will think a bit more and pay a bit more attention.  

I did, however, text him this morning when it was nearly time for him to disembark from his train.  Because getting home late is a good time for learning how to handle missteps.  Getting to school late is not the time.  

I'm amazed a the kids' independence and resourcefulness.  I feel that the skills they are learning now will prepare them to go anywhere in the world and navigate any transportation system.  Plus, they have the confidence that comes with solving a problem on their own.  

The Two Musketeers Can Go Anywhere!