Chloe told me she wanted to take the bus this morning after stuffing several plush toys into her backpack and removing the papers, water bottle and lunch bag that were clearly just space robbers and of no value.

 
This, moments after I had told the girls I would drive them to school.

 
Hanna and Ellie hopped in the van and Chloe stood on the driveway waiting for her bigger, albeit slower, noisier, smellier, busier, un-chaperoned ride. Oh I get it. She wants to be independent.

 
So I stood at the end of our driveway and watched the bus arrive.

 
She walked to the doors of the bus and never looked back.

 
That is of course until she did look back, walked over to me and said, “I changed my mind.”

 
No problem.

 
I drove the girls to school and Chloe strategically placed her backpack on her front, wearing it like a baby orangutan (I just spelled orangutan correctly on my first try. This Scrabble obsession is really paying xi-off).

 
Ellie yelled, “Love you, Mom!”And off she went, lost in a sea of legs, some in boots, some in rebellious shoes their mothers knew nothing about.

 
Hanna kept her head straight and like a ventriloquist using soft sound and no detectable lip movement, “Bye Mom, I love you.” The rest of the world would have to take my word for it.

 
Chloe walked with her baby monkey strapped to her chest towards her line-up, at least, I thought she was walking toward her line-up.

 
She seemed to be stopping in the middle of the school parking lot.

 
Oh sweetie. Was she going to miss me? Was she upset about the brave decision to take the bus and then humiliated when she opted out? Was she reciting something from the movie Frozen and wanted to finish the scene before joining her line?

 
None of the above.

 
Something peculiar was about to happen.

 
I saw a little girl toddle over towards Chloe. I recognized her from Chloe’s class. She too was wearing her back-pack on her chest like a proud gorilla.

 
Then another and another. Tiny girls with Disney printed backpacks strapped in reverse came together in the first ever meeting of the Kindergarten gang of Disney back-pack princesses, jumped in the air and bumped chests.

 
By some miracle, none of them fell backwards. They smiled and carried onto their line.

 
I now know why Chloe stuffed her bag with plush toys.

 
Padding.