Parenting fail

So, I'm driving to work this morning, and I see this poor little dude riding his bike to elementary school. Frantically. Pedaling his little heart out. And in addition to his gigantor backpack, he's got a full-size piece of poster board clutched in his right hand. It's waving all over the place, and it looked like he was going to lose it at any moment. Now, the colored side was facing away from the road, so I couldn't tell exactly which class it was for, but it was obviously an end-of-term project he was taking to school.

I'm sure you're thinking, "What's the big deal, Flojat? Kids have to ride their bikes to school all the time!" Except in Florida right now? It's pouring down rain. Has been since yesterday. Flash flood warnings, the whole nine yards.

Now, my first thought was, "Why didn't a parent drive him to school today with his project?" Then I realized that there could be some very valid reasons why that wasn't possible. Maybe baby brother was sick. Maybe dad had an important meeting early this morning and is trying desperately to hold on to his job. So, I get it. There could be a very good reason why this little dude had to ride his bike to school in the rain.

What I don't understand is why a responsible adult in his household didn't roll up his poster board project, throw a rubber band around it, and drop it into a plastic garbage bag to protect it? That couldn't take more than two minutes or so, huh? And if they had really wanted to go hog wild, they could have taken another thirty seconds and fashioned a little strap for it out of duct tape so he could sling it over his shoulder and steer his bike safely.

In another lifetime -- when adults could be helpful instead of instigating STRANGER DANGER!!!! at the slightest bit of eye contact -- I would have picked him up, thrown his bike in the back and delivered him to the front door of his school. Today, I had to drive right by him and could do nothing more than avoid splashing him with a puddle.

I hope he has a good, understanding teacher. I hope he gets an A on that soggy, smeary project he's going to have to turn in this morning. And if I'm lucky enough to have one, I hope I'm never to busy to help out my little dude.