In Wisconsin, a mother captured a photo of her son embarking on his inaugural school bus ride. Little did she know, the snapshot she took has become a viral symbol of kindness on the Internet.
On Axel’s first day at Augusta Elementary School, the 4-year-old, feeling a bit uneasy about venturing to school without his mom, prompted Amy Johnson to aim for a photo of this memorable occasion.
Bus driver Isabel Lane sensed Axel’s unease as she approached to pick him up. “He was all smiles when he saw me around the corner. [Then] I started to slow down, and that’s when you could see his face start to change,” Lane recounted the moment.
As Axel began to cry, his mother had to physically place him on the bus. “She had set him down in the seat, and he kept trying to grab for her as she was trying to get off the bus. So I just stuck my hand behind the seat and held his hand,” she continued.
In that moment, Johnson captured the touching photo of Lane and Axel holding hands on the bus.
AUGUSTA POLICE DEPARTMENT
“I was just more into that I wanted that perfect picture and whether he was crying or not I just snapped it,” said Johnson.
The heartening image has become a sensation on social media, drawing praise for Lane’s compassionate gesture. The Augusta Police Department shared the photo on its Facebook page, garnering over a thousand likes and positive reactions from the online community.
“The compassion we see every day in our teachers, bus drivers, custodians, administration, food service staff, and paraprofessionals is truly admirable,” they wrote in the post’s caption.
However, Lane didn’t think her actions were exactly “noble” or anything, as she believed it was “just something that she would do.”
Now, little Axel knows he has a an ally waiting for him at the bus stop everyday.
“The day after that, he was waiting at the bus stop all by himself. He got on all smiles and [was] talking to me the whole time. So he is doing much better now,” the bus driver added.
Lane, with just over a year of experience as a bus driver in the small town of approximately 1,500 residents, emphasizes that it’s not only children who benefit from a comforting touch.
“It kind of goes for anyone—If you see someone maybe struggling, just doing something as simple as reaching out a hand and showing that you are there,” said Lane. “You don’t have to say anything—just showing someone you are there makes a big difference in someone’s day.”