u/CrochetMyWorld

I became a bus driver in Oct./Nov. 2024. If you've seen any of my previous posts then you know my grade school kids started off as "only in a movie" horrible. This post isn't about how crazy they were, how difficult it was, or how I whipped them into shape though. This post is about one of the most rewarding things I've found about being a bus driver for this group of kids!

For me, there is almost nothing more rewarding than encountering these kids when they AREN'T on the bus. When I walk through the school and the kids excitedly yell at me and wave, while telling their friends that I'm their bus driver. When I pull into the loading zone and they're out on the playground so they run over to the fence to say hello, tell me about their day, and introduce me to their friends. When I drive by a park loaded with secondary students and they scream and run to wave and say hello. Last weekend was the One Moto show in Portland and one of my sixth grade students was working at their family's good truck - they were so excited to see me, introduced me to their parents, and then told their friends on Monday about how cool it was to see me.

Knowing that I make that kind of impact on them, even being a "take no ish" kind of driver (or maybe because of depending on how you look at it), that is The Most rewarding things for me!

I have been trying to write this request for over a month now. It's been so hard to choose which photos to use and what to say without flooding this post with pictures and words. I'm an over-explainer by nature and both of my fur babies were such huge parts of my, my partner, and each other's lives. I met my partner when Sierra Bear was about a year and a half old and they instantly fell in love. Sierra was always slow to warm up to new people but not him, she literally threw herself at him 🤣🥰I'll try to keep this brief, but no promises 😅 I just can't put this off any longer.

Sierra Bear was the light of my life. It's cliche but I rescued her and she saved me from myself. My world revolved around her puppy-face, every song became about her and I would serenade her relentlessly. Rylee-kins was my constant shadow, my grumpy little sidekick always prancing by my right foot staring up at me excitedly and wondering when nap-time is. In many ways my babies were complete opposites but they were also the perfect pair. When Rylee passed in November of 2022, it was hard on all of us, Sierra very obviously mourned his passing and missed him greatly. I still had my Baby Bear though, and that helped a lot.

In November of last year Sierra Bear was diagnosed with Metastatic Cancer and on March 22nd of this year, we had to say goodbye to our Fluffy-butt Princess. The last few months with our girl were rough because she was on hospice care but I wouldn't trade them for anything. Now that she's gone, so is the light from my life. I'm trying hard to learn how to live without her, we both are, but every day is still a struggle.

I would be beyond grateful if someone would create portraits of my two loves. I would like to have the physical artworks, to hang above their memorial shelves, and will be glad to pay any shipping costs. Please send me a direct message and we can exchange the necessary information.

Thank you so much for reading, your time and energy, and for all that you do to bring a little light back into the lives of others.

Imgur photos linked below:

[Princess Fluffy-butt Sierra Bear](https://imgur.com/gallery/some-favorite-sierra-bear-photos-YbLDXDi)

[Prince Prancy-pants Rylee-kins "The Whiney-kins" Coyote](https://imgur.com/gallery/all-rylee-coyote-all-time-Z9bWrLa)

[The Puptastic Duo](https://imgur.com/gallery/puptastic-duo-sierra-bearra-rylee-kins-whiney-kins-UKzychO) Sierra Bear weighed about 45lbs, Rylee about 20lbs.

A little extra about Sierra Bear:

My girl was with me from 2 months old until her last day at 15 years, 7 months and 6 days. Sierra The Bearra was always the happiest, sweetest, most energetic, and sensitive girl. She was super smart, curious, and always ready for adventure! Her fur stayed super soft her entire life, especially her face and ears, everyone that touched her commented on it. She was entirely unmotivated by food but would do anything for snuggle and ball throwing sessions! She loved watching TV, being outside, camping and playing in water as long as her feet could touch the ground 🤣 She was OCD over lights and shadows and could not be allowed to play with them for her own safety, and everyone's sanity. She had the fluffiest face and butt in the whole wide world but couldn't thermoregulate well, so got shaved every summer. She once guarded a full plate of my dinner (while I was out of the room) from two large, hungry dogs that thought it should be theirs. She went kayaking at Lake Powell, met Herman the Sturgeon at Cascade locks, investigated the shipwreck on the Oregon coast, soaked at Bagby Hot Springs, camped in many Oregon Forests... Her dad had to teach her how to swim, and to howl - it still took her a while to figure howling out though, and she used to snort in between each howl, it was the cutest thing ❤️

A little extra about Rylee Coyote:

Rylee-kins, my Old Man Baby was the grumpiest seeming dog I have ever encountered, think of the most toxically masculine dude that just wants love and snuggles but doesn't want anyone to know he wants/loves it 🤣🤣🤣 He would climb up my chest, press his face into mine for kisses, and snarl like he was going to eat my soul the entire time! When I would introduce him to people I would tell them to pretend he was a cat purring instead of a dog growling, it was his happy sound ❤️ He would paw and whine at you until you covered him with a blanket so he could lay down and nap. He would literally come find me in a crowd (like when we had our house warming party) and bark, paw, and whine until I took him to bed and tucked him in 🤣🥰 Even in the summer, he wanted nothing more than to be napping under a blanket while touching me. It was normal to see him laying on the couch with just his face shoved under a blanket and one back foot outstretched to just barely be touching me, that was his happy place ❤️ Rylee-kins The Whiney-kins hated water and would avoid it even on the hottest days at the river. He would pace and whine at the waters edge if I went swimming and if I swam "too far" away from him, he would plunge into the water to swim out to me and force me to hold him 🤣 Rylee-kins generally hated being away from home, especially camping, but he would much rather have been with me than anywhere else. During his last years, he became inconsolable when I wasn't home. He would refuse to interact with my partner and just lay in bed and cry. As soon as I got home though, he would run and jump into Chris' lap and smother him with loves. When I became a Truck Driver, Rylee became my Truck Dog. I even had a little backpack to carry him into warehouses, etc. that didn't otherwise allow animals inside. He was my constant companion those last years.