…go round and round, all through the town, until I, the mommy of the bus, sprain my neck. Alarms blare. Nuts and bolts start pinging off the “cook-clean-laundry-change diapers-homeschool kid-respond to frantic Mom! Mom! Mom! calls” assembly line.
My husband cancels his work call. He lets the kids watch TV, heats up some mustard oil with a clove of garlic and massages my neck with it.
Eyes closed, I bask in the rare, undisturbed warmth. “Feel better?” He asks.
“My back also hurts a bit.” I say.

Hema Nataraju is a part-time writer and full time mom to 2 kids. “The Wheels on the Bus” is her least favorite song, and her kids play it on loop. She lives in Singapore and tweets as @m_ixedbag.