High Note

Today was a bit overwhelming, but it ended on a wonderfully high note.  I had to go to a mandatory workshop today with all the other language arts teachers at my school, which normally wouldn't be a big deal, except for the fact that my club was scheduled to do concessions for the basketball game after school.  This meant leaving the conference early, rushing to my school, and getting our snack bar ready before the game began.  We were in the gym from 3:15 until around 8:00, and it did turn out to be a fun gig, although the initial prep was a lot of work.  Once the game was over and we finished counting the money and cleaning up, I hurried home.  The kids met me in the driveway and gave me a big hug, which I didn't find suspicious at the time, but later made sense.  When I came into the house, after some idle chitchat, Clint told me I got an envelope from my university.  He handed it to me with this meaningful look, and I realized it was the results for my Master's Comps.  I was so scared to open it.  I just knew that there were two sections that I didn't pass, and I didn't want to end such a busy, overwhelming day with dejecting news.  But of course I finally opened it.  By now you've finally guessed the rest of this overly drawn-out story...I passed every single section and now have a master's degree.  I read the letter in stunned silence twice, and then tears started gushing out of my eyes.  Wow.  I can't believe I cried.  I swear I have felt zero emotion over a potential master degree the entire time I was in the program.  Even when I took the comps, I felt completely calm over the notion of failing and having to retake it in six months.  I honestly didn't know how badly I wanted it until I got it.

Right when I started getting all teary-eyed, Clint stepped out of the room and came back in with a giant "Congratulations" balloon and a bouquet of flowers.  After gasping with surprise and hugging him, I told him "That was a risky gamble.  What would you have done if I had failed the test?  Use a Sharpie to cross out 'Congratulations' and replace it with 'Sorry'?"  Turns out that while I was still at work, he held the envelope to the kitchen light and could see right through it.  So he actually knew the entire time that I had passed.  He also threatened the kids with their lives if they spilled the news.  He wanted me to open the envelope myself.

Needless to say, I'm somewhere on cloud nine right now.  I will be going to sleep tonight with an enormously stupid grin.  My college days are finally over.

P.S.  I wonder what class I should take over summer?  ;-)
P.S.S.  The graders of the comprehensive exams must have been suffering from fatigue when they got to my essays, because there is no way I should have passed.  For two of the questions, I had NO idea what I was talking about.  They were probably on their 80th exam and, all bleary-eyed and glazed over, thumped it with their giant red "APPROVED" stamp just to be done with it all.  That's my theory.