Meanwhile, I started mentally preparing plans. I would have to notify the office, leave instructions for a sub (even though this was the last period of the day), and have to come in early tomorrow to get things set up. Besides that my brain was running through the possible scenarios where the school would need to call me: injured child, sick child, child in fight, etc. I was not expecting it to be Rowen's teacher letting me know that Rowen earned a golden pom pom today for his hard work in his reading class. My heart eased considerably when she then put Rowen on the phone to tell me the good news himself.
Now, I'm used to my neck turning a splotchy red that works its way up to my face when I'm stressed. I wasn't expecting one of my students to comment something along the lines of, "Look at that vein on his forehead! It looks like an 'M'!" Talk about letting my emotions show ...