In the Upper School Math Department, there are five men and our only female colleague Ms. S. To say that she is a good female influence on us five often crass, rarely sensitive to her or other female issues is a true understatement. We value and love her greatly. But that doesn't mean that we can do things like remember her birthday. Today was her birthday and none of us remembered until one of my colleagues overheard a student wishing her "Happy Birthday" in the hallway.
Minutes later, there we were, the five of us men in a semi-panic all having dropped the birthday ball on our only, and most valued female colleague. (Did I mention that she's five months pregnant, too?) It was I was one of those heterosexual married male characters on television who has forgotten his wife's birthday/anniversary and knows that he's in hot water. Or going to be because his wife will know that any gesture or gift that he comes up with will be seen as last minute and totally inauthentic.
So, I called in the big gun. I called her husband who came up with a swell idea that was something we could pull off. I'm not sure that irises are her favorite flower, but there definately is a backstory that came with it and so one of my colleagues went out and bought some irises. We all signed a heartfelt card of appreciation and well wishes. But I also confessed that we had totally forgotten her birthday. Honesty is the best policy, they say and the humor of the situation was part of what made it a funny moment.
But I can't assure you that we won't run into this situation again one year from now, though. You can't assume old dogs can learn new tricks.
2 comments:
Dude, first my birthday on the 8th, now hers?
Time to pump all the birthdays into Google Calendar and have it text message you the day before each birthday so you don't forget!
I have to say, as the recipient of the Irises, that a) they are my fave flower, and they must have shelled out some big bucks because, 4 days later, they still look fab (irises are rather fleeting in my experience) b) I have never laughed so hard as when I heard about the departmental collective "Oh S***!" c) i do feel a little pressure to do a better job of being the only girl now, and will need to remember all of their birthdays on time. SIGH. Thankgoodness for google calendar, I'll get on that right now. But truly, it did make this one of the best birthday's ever.
Happy (belated) Bday to you P.Steinberg...I forgot you were a fellow taurus...
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