Orientation didn't go the way I anticipated

Picture the first day, if you will. There are about 160 of us one Ls, dressed professionally, looking relatively sharp if not a wee bit uncomfortable. We are nervous and eager and introspective and garrulous. Most of us are wandering around trying not to offend and occasionally smiling at one another when we happen to catch each others eyes.

I was in the bookstore in the early afternoon, a couple of us had traveled there to purchase our books ahead of the scheduled time after cutting out of lunch early, when I got the call. The day before, H (my son) had gone in for his weight check and had some blood work done. (His numbers on the growth chart have recently fallen.) The news is not good. In fact, it is stunningly bad. I can't remember exactly what our pediatrician's nurse told me but the words "bone marrow test" were included. If ever there are words you don't want to hear during orientation at your first year of law school, "bone marrow test" are them.

Long story short, I missed the last day of orientation on Friday (we took H to the ER after he spiked a fever that morning at about 3:30am). I spoke with Student Services and they were kind enough to offer not only their sympathies and good wishes for a speedy recovery, but also to contact my professors to alert them to my situation. Participation in orientation is mandatory and I didn't want to be kicked out of the program if the docs were relatively optimistic about H making a full and complete recovery. I also emailed the professors directly, apologizing for my absence and offering up a brief explanation on my situation. I could not have anticipated the fantastically supportive e-mails I received from them in return.

Willamette is a wonderful school. One that just recently upped their success rate for first time bar takers to 86.4%. Those are the best numbers in Oregon and at the top of the list for schools in the NW. Woot.