I had a near-religious experience at work today

The work day began inauspiciously today; I vomited soon after waking up, my stomach upset by some food I had eaten.  Since I really needed the money, I went into work, despite the queasiness that lasted most of the morning session.  But I am very glad that I persevered, as I got to enjoy one of life's greatest pleasures.

After lunch, a student asked if he could get a book to read from the storeroom while most of the rest of the class were in group sessions with their case managers and therapists.  I agreed and soon after we arrived in the room, I heard an odd sound, almost like a mouse squeak.  I thought at first the HVAC unit might be malfunctioning, as the sound came from near the unit.  But then there was a scratching sound from a box underneath that unit and wondering if it might indeed be a stray rodent, I got the student with me to check the box.  He lifted one end and jumped back, frightened by the animal within.

He then tried again and then he did that "awww" sound when someone is confronted with ultimate cuteness.  He reached in and pulled out...



A BABY SQUIRREL!

Or rather, a two month-old squirrel that a female staff member was rescuing.  It already had its eyes open and fur, but it was perhaps only half the size of a full-grown adult.  We found a little squeezer/bottle and we bottle-fed it and then put it back and headed to room.  It was hard to leave at first, since it was like a visitation from a divine force for a Squirrelist, but ultimately I had to return to spread the squirrel gospel...or just to teach class; choose which explanation you think applies most here.

Of course, that student had to tell the others about the squirrel and I had to tell them that no, they could not worship the baby squirrel.  Of course, this led to a discussion among the handful of students in class about how one did wash and feed a squirrel.  After trying to decide what sort of squeeze/dropper would be best, one of the special ed students had a profound observation:

"Well, what if they go ahead and give a douche to the squirrel?"

Yes, these are my students.  May the squirrels have mercy on their souls.