He had a meeting lined up with his principal for this afternoon to talk about school. He was going to make sure he got the elevator key and restroom key so that when everyone went away for Thanksgiving break next week he and I could get into his classroom and get things set up for his return the Monday after Thanksgiving.
He was excited to see staff, excited to get back to teaching, so excited to try out new jokes on the students.
But when we walked out of the kidney specialist's office this morning we didn't have a work release slip in our hands. We had a shall-not-return-to-work slip. All through the day he and I continued to use the same word.
Blindsided.
While we knew returning to work was going to require some accommodations, we didn't expect not returning was going to be an option. Kidneys still aren't there, but even more of a concern for the doctor is the high steroid dosage he's on. The doctor is super-concerned about the immune-system suppression hubby is experiencing right now. Being around other people - especially 170 kids a day (about how many kids he'd have in classes throughout the day), is dangerous to his health. Like being in a petri dish, the doctor said.
Hubby is disappointed, discouraged, defeated. It's for the best, but right now it's not feeling that way to him.
I did get him to laugh a bit today. We were stopping for milkshakes at Arctic Circle and the sign out front read No chocolate 99 cents. I went on and on about what kind of dessert it might be. Only when we got a bit closer did I realize I misread the sign.
While their sign might be a bit off, their shakes sure aren't.
