One year ago, I was walking my class back from lunch when my cell phone started vibrating. We aren’t allowed to use cell phones in school, but I figured my situation that day merited a bending of the rules. I pulled the phone from my pocket and flipped it open to see one new text arrived. I’d like to say that I savored the moment, appreciating its enormity. I stood on the threshold of unknowable change. But I hit the “OK” button as soon as I saw I had a text, and there, in small black letters on a green background, was Linda’s brief but enormous message: “I’m due Nov.18”. I read it twice, three times, and again, and walked in and out of my classroom the same amount. A fellow teacher (who's also a close friend) happened to be walking by, and without thinking about whether I should or not, I held up the phone for him to see. I had to show someone. Thank God he was walking by or I might have told the class. I can still picture - and still appreciate - the widening of his eyes. The rest of that afternoon? It was like winning the lottery and not being able to tell anybody - I had to go along, pretending that I didn't know what I knew.
125 days old
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