Navigating the Stairs

School Rules: signed permission to stay after for the game. Jake sits on the stairs a'wond'ring if he'll take the blame. You see Jake had no note, and because he made no fuss, I sent this kindergartner home alone on the bus. Mom with her boyfriend live upstairs at 409 Heath; Dad and his second wife reside downstairs underneath. Four kids under ten, four adults under twenty-five navigate the outside stairs; trying to stay alive. Brother forged his note and now he's at school with the key; Dad's at work and Mom never gets off before three. Thank God for caring neighbors who keep watch on the stairs, they drove Jake back to school and then stayed to watch the Bears. If only I had known that this fam'ly had no rules; if only they had cared to find out about the school's. Mom was angry with me. "I want Jake out of her class!" I was mad too, envisioning mutiny en masse. I paid a visit to 409 Heath just to see what was the real issue and why she was blaming me. Climbing up those same stairs, sensing a terrible ache - I chose to say the words, "Sorry, it was my mistake." The door flung open, just because I admitted fault and because I let it go, she felt free to talk. I learned about her "rules" as I listened to her cares, taking just the right steps, we navigated the stairs.