The Last 24 Hours

• Got a phone call from a friend letting me know that another friend (and former coworker) had fallen ill. Some sort of degenerative brain thing. It doesn't look good, they say she probably has less than 2 weeks to live.

• Drop Stud off at school at 7am. Came home, got dressed for work. As I was leaving for work, got a phone call from school, had to go pick up Stud cuz he's sick. When I got there, I was greeted by an incredibly rude school nurse. She shrieked at me that "I TOLD HIM ON FRIDAY THAT HE NEEDED TO GO SEE THE DOCTOR!"

• Arrived late for work. Play a rousing game of text tag with CSJ all day, as we tried to arrange to get Stud to the doctor's office. Finally received a text saying we had a 2:30 appointment. Too bad I work til 2:45.... Luckily New Principal agreed to let me leave at 2:00.

• Got a call from a different friend (my friend at work in the room next door, who used to work with me at my last school, too) to let me know that our friend had taken a turn for the worse this afternoon, and isn't expected to make it through the night.

I don't even know how to wrap my brain around this news. My friend, BJ, was my first kindergarten partner. We had the best gig ever. My last school was severely overcrowded when I was there, and we rented out a small 6-room school from the church down the block. Four of those rooms were used for preschool, and the other two were kdg. We were the first two kindergarten teachers to use those rooms in ages when we opened them up. It was seriously one of the best school years I can ever remember. I had the most wonderful partner, and it was glorious to be away from the main building! Our kindergartners were the Big Fish in our wonderfully small pond! There is a park about 2 blocks from this building that we used to walk the kids to for recess several times a week. There were so many other wonderful things that we were able to do together. We both started at that school at the same time, and even after I left there 5 years later, we stayed in touch.

Sadly, I hadn't seen BJ in person in a very long time. Over the past few years, we played several games of phone tag. We were lucky if we actually had a conversation more than once a year. But, we never gave up trying to stay in touch.

When I got the call last night, I was floored. The friend who called only knew limited details, and she knew I'd want to know since BJ and I were so close when we worked together. When my other friend called tonight, I was even more blown away. We know now that BJ contracted Mad Cow, but we don't know how. I'm having so much trouble wrapping my head around the fact that by tomorrow, she probably will no longer be with us.

As I called a few friends who used to work with us, I kept having the same conversation over and over. All of us feel so bad that we let life get away from us. We always SAY "we need to get together," but then life gets in the way, and it doesn't happen. BJ and I must have said that 100 times. Now, I'll never get the chance to do that, and it's just so very sad.

I think I'm still in a state of shock about the whole situation, as my emotions have not really taken a hold of me yet. However, I'm dreading that next phone call from one of my former coworkers/friends, because I know it won't be good news.

I'm having yet another Pampered Chef party in a couple of weeks, and BJ was, naturally, on my guest list. I had no idea that she was sick and in the hospital. Now, in some strange way, I'm feeling guilty about sending her the invitation. I want to go get it from her house, so her mother and sisters won't see it. In some way, I feel like it shows what a bad friend I was, that I didn't even know she was sick. One of my friends had a different take on it, though, and said it will show her family that she had friends that missed her and cared about her. I don't know what to think. This whole situation is just so surreal. I simply can NOT wrap my brain around it yet.

I'll tell you one thing, though. I will no longer feel bad for having so many parties, Pampered Chef or otherwise. I sometimes feel bad that I'm always inviting my friends to something. It makes me feel kinda like a pest at times. But now, I'm going to focus on the fact that every party is an opportunity to get together with the people I love, and every invitation they receive is a reminder of how much I love them and love to spend time with them. So, let the Drunken Kitchen Fest commence!!! (my last few PC parties turned into just drunken messes! gee, could it have anything to do with my new-found bartending skills?)

Please send thoughts and prayers for BJ to have a peaceful passing, and for her family to be comforted in this time of sorrow.

I can't end on such a sad note, so let me tell you that Stud was diagnosed with a sinus infection. The doctor prescribed a Z-pack and an antihistamine. AND, I made sure I got a note saying that he is cleared to return to school so Nurse Nasty can stick it up her.....ok, take a breath.....ooo, she was so nasty! If I wasn't already late for work, I would have gone straight to the principal to let him know about her pleasant bedside manner! My only response to her screeching was, "Oh, I wasn't aware that you saw my son on Friday." I mean, seriously, WTF? If you feel a child is sick enough to go to the doctor, perhaps you should contact a parent. Why would you tell a child to go see a doctor, and expect something to happen? Ugh! Anyway, I hope the note is enough.

OK, it's time to get the brownies out of the oven that I'm baking for New Principal. She was wonderful today when I had to ask to leave early. I thought for sure I would get a bit of an attitude, given that I came in late already. But, she couldn't have been more accommodating. I suppose that's one of the benefits of having a working mom for a boss.