Surprises

Life is surprising. Period, end of story. Sometimes surprises are good, and sometimes surprises are bad. Sometimes they are big, and sometimes they are little. But they are always there.

Right now I am thinking about big surprises - life changing ones. But whenever I hear about a big, life-changing surprise in someone's life, I always think of the little, otherwise forgotten moments that preceded them. Like the woman who is happily singing in the shower and suddenly notices a lump in her breast, or the high schooler chatting on the phone about boys before she pulls into the intersection and doesn't see the semi coming. Or they could be good surprises, like a girl brushing her hair for an average night out and not realizing that a diamond ring will be hers before the date is over. Or those people who are all grungy and eating their cheerios when suddenly the sweepstakes people show up at their door and give them a million dollars.

Well, I think I might have had a moment like that last night. I was innocently on my computer working on a unit plan. I was contemplating how to best get sixth graders pumped up about reading mysteries when my phone rang.

Thinking it was going to be a totally normal phone call, I picked up with a cheery "Hello?" which was followed a few seconds later with, "Umm...oh my goodness..."
And I was faced with a big surprise a VERY difficult decision.

I haven't yet figured out if this is going to be one of those good life changing surprises or bad ones. It could really go either way. Maybe it won't even turn out to be life changing at all. All I know is that I have this giant decision to make, and I haven't been able to think of anything else all day. I've been completely scatterbrained; my kids were probably wondering what the dickens was wrong with me. Any time I try to do my homework it goes completely haywire...it's like I have stress-induced ADD. To be working on a mystery unit is completely ironic, what with this huge question mark dangling in front of me.

Sorry to blog about this without giving more information on the decision, but I really don't want to say anything about it until the decision has been made. Pretty much I just wanted to blog to see if I could possibly form cohesive thoughts in an informal format (in hopes I might be able to do so in a more formal format on my homework). I don't think I am being very successful. Blah.

I guess I will go play with the kitten again. My professors are going to kill me.


P.S. Just because I feel like some people may wonder, this surprise has NOTHING to do with a baby. I feel like that is the number one thing people ask about if I am ever stressed/surprised/excited/upset about something in life, even if that solution makes no sense in the situation at hand. ARE YOU PREGNANT?? ARE YOU PREGNANT?? ARE YOU PREGNANT?? ARE YOU PREGNANT?? No. I am not pregnant. I will never BE pregnant. We have been over this. So that is not the issue. Ever.