Do you have a bucket list? Or at the very least, things you want to do before you reach a certain age? Most of us have at least a vague idea of things we want to do, see, or accomplish before our time is up. The items on those lists for most of us are things we want to do or enjoy ourselves. This grandfather, however, didn’t have any of those ideas. His one wish, if money were no object, was to buy a school bus so that he could drive all of his grandchildren to and from school each day. Just before Christmas 2019, his wish came true. (1)
Grandfather Gets A School Bus To Drive His Grandkids To School Each Day
This grandfather’s one wish prior to turning 60 years old was to have more time to spend with his grandchildren. After putting in quite a bit of thought, he realized one way he could be a helpful part of his grandkids’ lives every day was by driving them to and from school each day. The problem? He has 10 grandkids – too many for even a standard family-sized minivan. He told his wife that he wished he could have a school bus that would have room for all of them.
“So there we were, enjoying a nice dinner out to celebrate Doug’s 59th birthday last June. Just for fun conversation I say, “Well, you’re officially going to be old next year, anything you need to check off your bucket list? Anything you need to do in your last year before 60?”,” his wife Amy wrote on Facebook. “He was totally bamfoozled. If you know Doug at all, you know that he’s always outward focused – other people’s needs, desires, best good – service to all, always. What did HE want? What was on HIS bucket list. He was floored. Actually a little disturbed. He couldn’t even comprehend the question.”
He Put In A Lot Of Thought
Amy says that at the time, he couldn’t actually answer the question. Thinking about things that he wanted and only him was such a foreign concept to him. He spent quite a while thinking about it. Finally, a few days or so later, he turned to Amy and said “I want a bus”.
“I want a bus so I can go around every morning, pick up all the grandkids, and drive them to school before I go to work. Just a small bus. We’d sing songs, talk, and it would be something unforgettable they did with their grandfather. If money were no object, I’d want a bus.” Amy recalled her husband’s response in her Facebook post.
Amy said that his response floored her more than the question had originally stumped him. She couldn’t believe that still, money and logistics aside, her husband’s wish before he turned 60 was to have a school bus so he could drive around his grandkids.
“Anything in the world. Money is no object. And the most this good man can think to ask for is an little, old bus so he can give his grandkids the memory of a lifetime.” she wrote.
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Dreams Can Come True
Amy knew then and there that she wanted to make this wish come true for her beloved husband. She spoke with all the cousins and siblings and then, along with Doug, they started researching to make this dream come true. (2)
After some online searching, Doug and Amy found the perfect school bus to meet their needs on Facebook Marketplace. The bus is a short bus previously owned by a party bus and brewery tour company. They gave the bus a little makeover, adding seat belts for safety and signage on the side that says “Grandfather Express”.
“It sounds like a lot of fun to pick up the kids and take them to school,” Doug said. “All I have to do is get up a little earlier,”
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A Gift For The Whole Family
The family is all very close. All of the 10 grandchildren, between ages two and 10, live within 20 minutes of each other. Doug and Amy host family dinner every Thursday night and Amy works at the children’s school, so she sees them every day. Their school, Paideia Classical Christian School in Oregon doesn’t have a school bus service, so the kids were previously being driven in by the parents.
The couple presented the bus to the grandkids at their cousin’s Christmas party on December 20, 2019. They knew the kids would be excited, but their reaction was even better than they thought it would be.
“They just lost their minds,” Doug said. “They could not believe it.”
The Internet’s Reaction
What surprised Amy and Doug, even more, was the reaction that Amy’s Facebook post received from the online community, as well as other media outlets. People shared her post online and it was even picked up by CNN. Doug hopes that he will be able to keep the Grandfather Express running for as long as he is able and the kids are enjoying it. He believes that it is important to leave a legacy for the younger generations of their family. Certainly, this will leave the grandkids with plenty of happy memories with their grandad to last a lifetime.
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Sources
- “Portland-area grandpa buys a bus to take his 10 grandkids to school.” Oregon Live. December 27, 2019.