Monday, May 19, 2008

The Graduate, the penny and other stories

The Good: BigGeek graduated.
He is officially an MBA now. A hundred years ago, we would be scrambling to go to the sign-maker to get a new name plate for our front door. Now with an MBA added to it. Cap, gown, hood, diploma. The works. Looked handsome indeed. Traditional pictures holding diploma with proud parents and proud (and relieved) wife.

The Bad: It rained on his graduation parade.
Saturday was nice. Monday is nice. Cold, but at least sunny. Sunday- the day of his graduation, was gray and overcast and it rained. On the main parade with about 5000 students. My mother-in-law and father-in-law did not see BigGeek walk the lawn. It was so crowded. People with umbrellas and raincoats standing on chairs. We were prepared for the rain too. But not in a good way. We had no umbrellas and no raincoats so had to stay along the covered porches in the sidelines which were crowded beyond crowded. The smaller ceremony at his B-school where he actually got his diploma had an inclement weather policy in effect. The ceremony was moved indoors adding to the crowds.

The Ugly: Chip swallowed a penny.
Wait there’s more. Chip had a bad cold, asthma and a suspected pink eye. A slight temperature. So Chip and I went to the ceremony but came back to the hotel before it began and stayed there while BigGeek walked the lawn and later got his diploma. At least the mother-in-law and father-in-law were there. I am glad about that. Saturday evening, before the graduation, there was a party BigGeek and I were supposed to go to. My mother-in-law and father-in-law were babysitting Chip. They planned to take him out and let him run. Earlier in the day, I had given Chip a penny to play with. So while BigGeek and I were out meeting his professors and fellow students, Chip put the penny in his mouth. My mother-in-law suspected something was up and suspecting it was the penny, ssked Chip to open his mouth. Chip opened it alright, but swallowed the penny before he did.

Now no account of our adventures is complete with a Chippy anecdote. So here it is.

The anecdote:
BigGeek was giving his parents a tour of his school Saturday afternoon. Chip and I chugged along. Chip was talking loudly, peppering the conversation with wise and astute remarks about poop and lawnmowers. His mother was imploring him to use his inside voice when suddenly a cop appeared. She had a coffee in one hand and while exchanging brief pleasantries with BigGeek, hurried to get out the door behind us. Chip saw the cop and as she walked past us, fixed his gaze on her and said loudly “Excuse us.” She was so taken aback that for a second she did not know what to say. Then she laughed and told Chip, “You are just fine.”

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

A cold, asthma and suspected pink eye. To top it off swallowing a penny??? Boy o boy. So did the penny make its appearence?

RJ said...

Congratulations to Big Geek!
So what happened to the penny ? I hope chip is doing well now.

Anonymous said...

Congrats to BigGeek on his graduation.
Chip swallowed a penny? Hope it made its way out. Few months back, my sisters daughter swallowed a safety pin, thank god it was closed. Sis was apparently cleaning the shelves. It made its way out in couple of days.

LOL on the anecdote. It had to be chip, alright!

Savani said...

My MIL told me of the incident 24 hrs later i.e. last night. He pooped 4 times yesterday, but who was looking?

rj: I have no idea.. I am praying it comes out what is the time frame on this?

ddmom: see.. I don't know if it came out. FIL, MIL and BigGeek are convinced it will come out. Actually BigGeek took Chip to the doctor today and forgot to mention the penny. He said he forgot because it was so trivial. So I don't know how long I ought to wait.

By Deepa and Supriya said...

Congrats Biggeek!
and waiting to hear about the penny :)

K 3 said...

Good: Congrats to BigGeek! And Hats off to you!
Bad: Sorry about the rain, maybe get some pics in cap and gown and photoshop away all the rain and crowds! :)
Ugly: YIKES!!!! Hope its already out!
Anecdote: LOL!!!

Sukhaloka said...

OMG... congrats to BigGeek, good luck to Chip with his penny!
Just congratulate yourself that BigGeek didn't have to wear a bright lurid orange gown over cream outfit - yes, Jadavpur University has decided that its graduates will be honoured with pictures of themselves looking like firebrands. Literally.

Hope the cold and asthma is better for Chip, and LMAO @ the anecdote :D

Shobana said...

Congrats BigGeek on your MBA!!! YAY! And the penny...err, lets hope that it had made its appearance in the loo. Have you questioned him about it?

Anonymous said...

When my sister's daughter had swallowed the pin, the docs told her to wait and watch 3 days. In her case, they took an x-ray and confirmed it was in the intestinal tract.
My sister is a physician herself and knew it would make its way sooner or later, her reason for panic was not being sure if the pin was open. Fortunately it was not.

Yet Another Mother Runner said...

Congratulations Big Geek (and you too Dottie, for patiently hanging in there the past 3 years)!!

Good lord, Chip!!! Never a dull moment with him...Hope it's out of his way now ;)

Anusha said...

congrats to BigGeek! and Chip is more than a handful, isn't he? :)

was going to ask, for future reference, how to get a penny out of a toddler...but got the answer in the comments!

dipali said...

Congrats to the Big Geek and to you too! Hope the Chiplet is well now:)
Give the cute little guy a big hug from me, please:)

mixedblessings89 said...

What is a 'suspended pink eye'? And is the penny out yet?
Maybe you should get a scan done, just to see if it's still in there? The penny, I mean.
BTW, congrats to BigGeek on the MBA!
That's cool, that is.

Hey, I wanted to ask you: Does everyone at (your) home know that you blog?

Ohh!!! I just noticed! 'Congrats' is not detected on a spell- check, even though it's an abbreviation!
Oh. Sorry.

Savani said...

K3: no word on the penny yet! That's what I was a-thinkin about photoshop :)

suki: I think you will look good in orange.. in black, they all look like crows :) asthama is better. cold is still bad.

Shobana: thanks for the wishes!! He has admitted to ingesting a penny :)

ddmom: very scary.. I might wait a week and call the doctor and see if an x-ray is needed.

GND: 2 yrs, gnd, I would be dead if it were 3 years :) thanks mucho!

kodi's mom: arrrgh. what did I do? I was such a quiet Child :) and thanks :)

dipali: doing better now..thanks :)

mixedblessings89: pink eye is bacterial conjectivitis. thanks for you wishes :) And to answer your question, yes and they are proud (for the most part anyway :) )

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to you both for making thru the MBA program. Take care of chip..ask him if the penny has come out already. If not try giving him bottled baby food prunes. It has to come out the next day or maximum within 3 days.

Vinita

Something to Say said...

Big time Congrats to the Big Geek. And to you too - for being there. And hows Chip feeling now? With the asthma et al?
This may sound ugly - but did the penny get ejected out of his system? Ok I just read the comments - apparently not. O boy - these boys sure know how to send the exciteometer soaring...

B o o said...

Congrats to the entire family on Big Geeks Graduation!
Hope Chip is well now. I freaked out once when Ashu put a penny in her mouth even though she spat it out. Good that I dont have to worry too much even if she swallows. For all you know, she might have already done that. Whos looking these days? ;)

Maggie said...

Congratulations to BigGeek! And trust Chip to keep the excitement on, eh? I so understand what you mean by 'buy one-get one free' variety! :-)

Itchingtowrite said...

wow!! what a day. hope chip is ok now
big congrats to your hubby

I love Lucy said...

Congratulations to BigGeek and to you as well :) Good job!!
Chipper doing good I hope.I was wondering what would have happened if he had been specifically told to look out for the penny everytime he pooped!!!
*runs for cover from Dottie*

I love Lucy said...

Oh and there is something for you at my space!

NainaAshley said...

Congratulations to Big Geek and you. I hope Chip is ok. The penny episode was scary.

BangaloreMom said...

Wow!! Congrats to the Big Geek..with Hubby starting his MBA classes next month, graduation day seems a loong way off for us. :)

And a penny!! My God, what an adventure!!

Sunita Venkatachalam said...

Congrats on the graduation! But the penny? What happened?

Hubby swallowed a 25 paise coin when he was about Chip's age. Everytime he went to do potty, there was a crowd of 5 people around him watching. Eventually, after 4 days they found it. And my FIL even preserved it. Ewww!

Savani said...

vinita: haven't see the penny come out...Hard to see too..maybe I should just get him an x-ray or give him melons.

sts:cold is better now! haven't seen it yet.. nobody else in my family is worried..so.

boo: thanks and lol :)

maggie:LOL. I hope munch is quiter thqan moppet :)

itw: thanks a LOT!

I love lucy: lol. its hard to in a commode :) ('d much rather get an xray! heading over to your space now!


naina ashley: thanks mucho!

bmom: good luck on the MBA.you deserve a double degree. We are there to cheer you on! graduation will come sooner than you think!

poppins: they saved it :D ROTFL. Wow.

mummyjaan said...

Congratulations, Dotmom and family! Too bad it rained.

So, um, is it out yet or still in?

If you find that penny, Dottie, wash it and frame it like Poppins' in-laws did; it's probably the only penny in the world which has had women across all continents inquiring after its whereabouts upto a week after its disappearance! Never before has a penny (and its merry swallower) generated so much excitement :)!

pumpkins mom said...

Congratulations on Big Geeks graduation! you must be sooo relieved...I can't wait for my DH to graduate (next year).
You might wanna try the Chip's pediatrician to tell them about the coin? They might suggest something since you don't know if it has come out yet.

Savani said...

mummyjaan: hahaha. nice way of putting it :) I hope ots out.. I haven't seen it yet :(

pumpkin's mom: that's what I am planning..talk to his ped. And good luck on you hubby's last year in school. It will fly by in NO time.

Mystic Margarita said...

Congratulations to Big Geek! Any update on the 'Passage of the Penny'? :) On a serious note, thank God Chip is ok - I live in mortal fear of a coin or some such getting stuck in the throat.

Anonymous said...

Oh...This is awesome. The graduation I mean. I graduated too.:D Whoo..hoo

And yeah this was in a downpour too, thank God someone had enough sense to push the whole thing indoors. My graduate speech would have been ruined otherwise :D

Hope the "Penny in the Chip" tale has a happy ending for the penny and the chip. what a story for grandkids...

Mona said...

congrats to all of you on big geek's graduation!
i loved the anecdote. i'd have been as speechless as the cop :)

Usha said...

Congratulations to the BG.
And what do you mean by mentioning the penny swallowing and then casually drifting off to the other chippy anecdote - my heart was nearly at my throat until I read the comments.

The Gypsy said...

wowww congratulations to Big Geek! and great job,dottie, supporting him through :)
BTW, whats the update on the penny?

Squiggles Mom said...

Congrats to BG!
You were so blase about the penny that now I'm thinking oh that wasn;t too bad and maybe I wont go crazy if S does that. Maybe.

Savani said...

mystic: No update. But I am sure it is out. would have loved to keep is in a treasure box :)

binaryfootprints: Heartiest Congrats! I saw the post. Its awesome that you graduated with honors! Here's to new begiinings.

Mona:thanks :)

Usha: Well.. he did not choke on the prnny. If it apssed through the gullet, it is bound to pass through the other end, no? :)

Gypsy: penny, hopefully is out.

Squiggles mom: he eats cheery stones all the time. Gets that form the mom. When he was younger I would pit them for him, but its so messy, I just swallow pits and he asked me if he could and I said try. Now he swallows them all the time. And they do make their way out. so :)