By the time the holidays rolled around in 2019, Amy and Doug Hayes had eleven grandkids.But the kids’ gift that year was the most memorable one ever.
It was something they’d wanted for a while, and it was one of Doug’s lifelong fantasies that finally came true.
For one thing, the kids really wanted to take the bus to school, but since they went to a rather tiny private institution in the neighborhood, they weren’t able to.
Children have ‘always stated, ‘Gee whiz, I enjoy our school, but we would like to be able to have a school bus,’’ Hayes said CNN at the time.
Even though only half of his grandchildren were of school-age at the time, he knew he’d have to provide transportation for the other five when they reached that age.
In 2019, when Amy questioned her husband about his wildest dreams, he said without hesitation that having a school bus for his cherished grandchildren would be the absolute pinnacle of his life.
‘It would be the most rewarding thing in the world to take the grandchildren to school every day,’ Hayes said to his wife.
And she made sure, over the next few weeks, to persuade him that it was time to act on that ambition. As it turned out, he was able to purchase a school bus at the perfect time.
All of his grandchildren were ‘ecstatic’ when he gave them the bus as a Christmas present.They couldn’t believe their luck when they were given the opportunity to take a bus to school.
‘That came as quite a shock! We were all really taken aback. One of the kids said to KGW News, ‘I never anticipated him to buy a bus!’ while another chimed in, ‘It was really fun!’
Making Doug’s grandchildren happy was Doug’s top priority. They would finally obtain the school bus of their dreams, and he would have more time to spend with them.
Getting to spend time with them each morning is the primary motivation, he said.
Hayes is in luck because all of the families reside within a twenty minute drive of his house, and the school is only two or three miles away, making it simple for him to transport the kids to school every morning before he goes to work.
This is a fantastic plan, and I can only imagine how much fun the cousins will have riding the bus together.
‘I thought maybe there’s a way I can offer them a memory that would endure throughout their lives,»’Hayes said.
We have no doubt that these are memories they will hold dear throughout their lives.