Surprise!

Today as I was driving to Perkins to have lunch with my department, I didn't know I was driving to my first baby shower!! The undergraduate commencement is this afternoon, and most of our department is participating. I opted not to as I didn't think I could make it through the ceremony without going to the bathroom. We had scheduled our end of the year luncheon for 12:30 prior to graduation. When I got to Perkins, I saw there was a baby balloon at the table. :-) I was the 4th person to arrive. When the other 9 arrived (they came together by van), Charles (my dept chair) presented me with a card which was signed by 12 profs and 2 secretaries and included a $100 gift card to Babies R Us! Part way through the meal the waitress brought out a cake. They sang to me when the cake was brought out (using the Happy Birthday tune, LOL). They teased me a little that I ordered such a cheap meal ($5.01 including tax) as that was part of the surprise - they were paying for my lunch. We had a cold front go through so I was wearing a long sleeve (non-maternity) shirt with maternity pants as it's only in the 50's today. Hopefully I looked okay in the photos. I'd have dressed differently had I known the luncheon was also a baby shower! It will be fun to shop using this gift card! :-)

One bittersweet thing about this card (which is definitely a "keeper!") is that one professor who signed the card passed away last night. It's kind of strange to receive a card signed by someone who is no longer alive. Her office was right beside mine. The last time I saw her was last week when we were conducting interviews. She died from a blood clot. I think she was about 65 years old. She was the one who wrote my tenure report (at the dept level) a few months ago.