On Saturday because a dear friend of mine needed help, I agreed to work a test on campus before I was to give three presentations to freshmen that afternoon. I was exhausted but I hardly see how sitting in a room making sure people aren't cheating would make me any more exhausted than I already was... plus, I like money.
I worked the test then left to set up for the presentations. The first one went well and it made it better that I got to present with a good friend. We both share a similar humor and the students seemed to like it since they referred to us as "that funny girl and the tall funny guy" for the rest of the day. Then I had my two "Roommate Horror Stories" sessions were I say things that make people blush and laugh all at the same time. Fun times. The day was a win!
But I was so ready to go home because PAPA BOUGHT SAM A PADDLEBOAT!!!!
There is a small lake behind Grandma and Papa's house (overlooking the pool... which is where you can find us most summer days!) and now we had a paddleboat to take Sam out in. #radsauce
Here are some pics of our paddleboat adventure. Aside from Justin telling us we were all fat (just kidding... four people in the boat just made it harder to paddle), it was pretty fun.
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He really did have so much fun. He wanted to paddle so bad so we let him stick the oar in and "paddle". Really that meant he splashed lots of water on me but, eh? No biggie.
Sunday morning rolled around like every other Sunday morning in the history of ever (since Sam's birth). He crawls up in my lap to watch cartoons. There shall be no separation of us on Sunday mornings. There is a routine. Wake up, crawl in momma's lap, and say, "I wanna watch a cartoon." Then five minutes later, "I'm weady for breakwast." Such cuteness. I'll be sad when this is over.
I was looking forward to Sunday because this was the day I was going to have the majority of it off. We had the kickball tournament that night that I needed to be at but I had no plans of going to work before 5 pm.
Until I got a call that we had lost one our students.
Not lost as we couldn't find him, but lost as in he passed away. This did not happen on campus, however he was already moved in and the story surrounding this is heartbreaking. It was a huge surprise to everyone and there is a lot of sadness and shock surrounding it. No foul-play is suspected and he didn't take his own life. It is just one of those unexplained tragedies.
So the majority of the rest of my day was handling the campus community. We had to tell the RAs, the staff, the student leaders, and finally his classmates. There is a lot that goes into handling a death of a student and the process is on going. We just continue to pray for the friends and family of this fantastic young man.
It is hard to handle something like that anyway, but the bottom line is to remain strong for those you lead so that they can have their moments of grief. I held it together all day long. When it was finally time to go home and grab Sam to get ready for the kickball tournament, I was admittedly on edge but doing fine.
I got Sam and got home to get ready and he had a piece of candy in his mouth. I thought to myself, "He should not be eating that." And that's where I messed up. I should have made him spit it out. But I didn't. Then he tripped and it got lodged in his throat.
One thing I can say I am good at is responding to emergencies. I just act. I don't think. It's like I become a robot and just "do".
So I "did." I yanked him up and did the Heimlich maneuver like I'd been trained to do it (I haven't. I've just seen it done). A few pumps and that candy FLEW out of his mouth. His face began to turn back to his normal color. His eyes were blood shot. And he began to cry. As I held him and tried to comfort him, the gravity of the situation hit me and... I lost it.
Mental breakdown, right there in a bedroom. It was understandable b/c that is a crazy day by anyone's standards and certainly emotional. But seeing my child's life flash before my eyes and then experiencing the relief that everything was okay (when another family experienced the exact opposite just earlier today) was too much to handle. I needed to release of emotion. And it felt great.
What did not feel great was mustering up the energy to go to a kickball tournament after that. But I talked myself into it because I wasn't the only staff member who experienced loss that day and who had an emotional day. There were other people that did too (even more so than I did) and still were required to be at this thing. They didn't get a break and neither should I. The least I could do was show up and be supportive of their program.
And that's what we did. Sam has recently fallen in love with "Heaven" (AKA: Kevin) and he was playing kickball and Sam wanted to see it.
So we went and had a lot of fun. Sam wanted to play but couldn't. We cheered them on for a few games. Sam decided he would be photographer with my phone for a bit. This is all he got though...
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| He said to make a happy face. |
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| Angry face... |
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| Excited face... |
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| "Teethy" face. He meant for me to take out my teeth but I explained that's only for Papa... |
My best friend started work with me and that was awesome and I got to hang out with some cool police officers...
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| Shhhhh.... he's in disguise. |
And I had lunch with some of my staff.... but it was rough. And my boss saw it on my face. And then demanded I take a day off from work today.
She's awesome. She knows I would have come in had she not told me to stay home. I just love her sometimes.
So for today... I've had coffee, admittedly done some work (folks need to be paid), and my dog is very confused why I am here so he has stared at me awkwardly for about 2 hours now...
On my agenda for today:
A little bit of laundry
A haircut (if I can get an appointment)
Goodwill retail therapy... maybe even a pitstop at ROSS
Fill some prescriptions
Nap (maybe)
Chill... I have some Candy Crush levels to Crush... naw'mean?
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