update: fever boy

remember fever boy?  40.7 degrees celsius (105 degrees fahrenheit), checking on him every 2 hours to make sure he didn't die, bringing him food and water, caring for him when he threw up, patting him on the back and trying to make him feel better?  ahh yes - you remember him.  he's out of isolation and back in the real world and doing great.  and today his mom sent me, larry, and mike (the three deans in pembroke) this email:

Dear Larry, Claire and Michael,

Just a note about last week's events re [fever boy].

My husband and I are very aware that you went well beyond the call of duty on this, and it is hard for us to find the words to adequately express our thanks.

We realize it must have been very difficult for you, buffeted among the demands of worried parents, the bureacracy of a national medical system, and the needs of a very sick kid. We are sure you didn't get a lot of sleep yourself. We trust you can understand how helpless and frustrated we felt at times, and we hope you will understand and forgive us if we sometimes pushed too hard.

Please accept our heartfelt thanks and appreciation.

Very truly yours,

[fever boy's mom and dad]

and then, 10 minutes later, in walks the delivery guy from chocology, a fancy chocolate shop in the covered market.  he is bearing three boxes for me, larry, and mike, containing dozens of fancy chocolates and a note: "in gratitude, [fever boy's mom and dad]".

fancy chocolates!  super sweet thank you note!  warm fuzzy feeling!  hooray!!

as a teacher (and now a dean), the majority of what you hear from parents is negative - the content parents are totally off the radar screen.  additionally, it takes MANY positive comments from parents to make up for how one negative comment makes you feel.  as you can see, the math is not in our favor.  i'm learning to develop a thick skin about these things...so fever boy's mom and dad weren't bad at all!  they just wanted us to email or call with updates, and would give requests - more red gatorade, can you call the doctor again, etc.  all very do-able.  and the thank you email was so wonderful to get - let alone the effort to order us fancy chocolates.  

i think exactly NONE of the people reading this blog have children in school, but if anyone does - send their favorite teacher a thank you letter at some point this year.  i save the ones i get in a file folder at my desk.  definitely a pick-me-up for when the negative comments pour in.