Like most parents in Sullivan County, when the flash flood warning alarm blared from my cellphone, my first thought was “my daughter.”

It was the middle of the day and my kid was where most kids are in the middle of the day: School.

As the floodwaters rose we parents had two choices. Did we try to make our way to the school building, risk being rerouted by flood waters, pick up our kids, then try to make our way back home, not knowing what the water would have done in the meantime? Or did we put our trust in the school bus drivers to get our kids home safely?

There’s been a lot of talk about school bus driver shortages of late, even locally. Drivers who were furloughed while kids learned remotely looked for – and found – other jobs. Others decided the job just wasn’t worth it anymore, not with current pay, lack of benefits, risks to their health and the stress, oh the stress.

There’s plenty to talk about when it comes to bus driver shortages.

What we aren’t talking about is how much the average driver goes through in the name of our children.

I was one of many parents who chose option number two last week. I knew the safest place for my daughter was inside the school building as the rain continued and the safest trip home would be on the school bus driven by the same driver who has gotten her home through snow and ice, through rainstorms and hail.

More than half of America’s kids — somewhere around 25 million — ride a bus to and from school.

We look to them to keep our kids safe in snow, ice, rain ... and floods.

When my daughter climbed off the bus last week, a breath I’d been holding for hours slowly let go. They were safe ... thanks to our bus driver.