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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Surprise, Surprise

Yesterday, Norah didn't seem to be feeling well, but I figured it was just a cold, so we let her be.  Then, she woke up 3 times during the night, and when I felt her, she felt like she was burning up.  I took her temp around 3 am, and it was 100.6.  Not a huge, worrisome temp, but a fever nonetheless.  At 5 am, I gave her some ibuprofen and that seemed to help, but I was worried she might have more than a cold, so as soon as her pediatrician's office opened, I called and made an appointment for her.

But, apparently, a 10:30 appointment means 11:45, and after waiting for nearly and hour and half, we discovered that she had...

...nothing.  Just a cold.

Blasted!  I told her that after that wait, she BETTER have more than a cold, but nope, just a cold.  (That, and a fairly major case of DRAMA QUEEN -- seriously, you should have seen the fuss she threw during her exam; you'd think the doctor was poking her with hot needles instead of just listening to her chest.)

Jerry met me at the dr.'s office to take Norah to daycare so that I could quick rush to work since the morning appointment threw off our schedule.  I got to my office feeling a bit frazzled and rushed.  And as soon as I unlocked my office door, the dean of my department met me and asked, "Hey, can I see you for a moment?"

I told him "sure," but was thinking, "I hope it truly is only a moment -- I have class in 15 minutes."

He leads me into the conference room, and...

...lights go on and "SURPRISE!"  My colleagues had thrown me a surprise baby shower!  There was wonderful food and a very generous gift, and I was so surprised, and already a little emotionally shaken from the roller coaster morning, that I started bawling.  Bad idea to surprise a pregnant lady ;)

It was so wonderful, but in the back of my head, I was thinking, "This is great, but I have to get to class."  But, they suggested I go, return the work to my students and let them go, so I could enjoy my shower.  So, I took them up on the suggestion -- met my class, returned their work, and then cancelled class.  Students were thrilled, and frankly, I was too.  So, instead of teaching all afternoon, I basically sat around, ate cake, and chatted.  It was great.

So, even though the day started off on shaky legs, it greatly improved!

17 comments:

Marlene said...

That's so swete of your co-workers! A nice surprise after a rough morning.

RunningLaur said...

aww, such a great surprise, and I'm sure your students were all in favor of it too :)

bethtrue said...

Well that's just awesome! A nice event after a rough morning! Good idea to let the students go; enjoy your party! Yay!

Anonymous said...

How awesome is that?! It's amazing how things can just turn out terrific!

lifestudent said...

Now that sounds like a pretty happy ending to a hectic start of a day!

Erin said...

That's such a great surprise (and they let you cancel class!).

Glad Norah only has a cold. My worry isn't so much about them being sick, it's getting the fever under control to slyly drop them at DC. I know, I am a terrible mom. If you ask Ryan though, I am all talk because I keep checking on Miller to make sure he's ok.

Julie D said...

Aww, so nice! As a student, I know for sure they enjoyed the break!

Carly said...

That is so great! Perfect way to turn a day around.

Aka Alice said...

It's so great when you work with wonderful people. Glad that Norah only had a cold. She reminds me of another drama queen I know ;-)

Lee said...

How fun. I hope you enjoyed your party. I'm sure your students enjoyed their cancelled class!

Agate Lake Girl said...

What a nice surprise (especially after the long morning)!

MNFirefly said...

Wow! That's awesome. I would be bawling too.

cathy said...

i LOVE this story!!!
so glad norah is ok. what a positive way to have your day turned around!!

d.a.r. said...

Oh that is so sweet and generous!

Hope Norah is feelin' better!

SavvyFitChica said...

that's so awesome Jess! What a wonderful surprise!

Thanks for your comment. I wish I was more laid back and could just ignore the unnecessary comments. I tried, I even blocked this person from my blog but now she just comments anonymously. Ugh :) I need to take my que from you though and just ignore them. Thanks!

BrianFlash said...

Those poor students. They paid their money in the hope of being taught important lessons in life and then were turned loose without a class. They were probably devestated.

:)

The Boring Runner said...

Very cool! Awesome of them to think about you. So, why did this never happen while I was in college. No class!?