100 Smiles

You may have known that the results of the November 2008 state licensure examination for nurses was released today…

The family just finished praying tonight’s rosary – the sorrowful mysteries…

Ironically…

PM just had one of the best days of her life!

From this day on, PM’s name will be four letters: PM, RN. How cool is that?

PM,RN

Oh God, I cannot find the words to explain how I am feeling now – especially when I just found out that I passed. I was snacking with my Man when I got the news. You know what? I think he went more ballistic compared to me! We were just so happy – as well as the whole family, laughing and crying at the same time, my good friends calling and sending me congratulatory messages.

There were different ways on how we found out.

ME (sleeping… 600AM): (phone rings) Hello…

MY MAN: Babe tiningnan ko sa internet wala pa namang results ng board exam. [Babe I searched the internet for the results of the board exam and found none yet.]

ME: (groggy) Ganun ba? Okey lang yan baka naman bukas pa? [Is that so? It’s alright maybe it will be released tomorrow?]

MY MAN: Hindi ko alam eh, teka lalabas lang ako, bibili ako ng diyaryo [I don’t know. Wait, I better buy a newspaper]. (again this is the ungodly hour of 600AM).

ME: Okay sige Babe, try mo sa Manila Bulletin maghanap [Okay, try to look at Manila Bulletin].

(after maybe half an hour, phone rings again…)

ME: Hello…

MY MAN: Babe pambihira walang Manila Bulletin dito! [Babe there isn’t any copy of Manila Bulletin here!]

ME: LOL ganun ba? [Is that so?]

MY MAN: Oo eh, di bale hahanap pa ko sa ibang tindahan [Yes, no matter, I’ll just look for another news stand].

(phone rings again… 730 AM)

ME: Hello?

MY MAN: Babe wala eh, tiningnan ko sa Inquirer, wala naman, pati sa headlines ng Manila Bulletin sa net wala din [I did not see it, I tried looking it up in Inquirer and on the site of Manila Bulletin but none still].

ME: Ah… baka naman bukas pa talaga [Maybe it will really be released tomorrow.

(1300 PM, while eating)

ME: OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!

MY MAN: Oh bakit? Bakit? [Why?]

ME: Lumabas na daw ang boards! Eto! [showing a text message from my sister Ched and my cousin Dr. Alex] Pumasa na ko! [The board exam results came out. I passed!]

MY MAN: Waaaaaaaaaaaaa! Pumasa ka na? Pumasa ka na! Waaaaaaaaaaaaa! Galing naman! [That’s amazing!]

ME: OMG! Ang bait-bait ng Diyos! Ang blessings sabay-sabay! [The Lord is so good, pouring so many blessings at once in my life!]

MY MAN: Oo nga! Grabe ang galing! [Truly amazing!]

ME: Tara tingnan natin sa internet! [Let’s look it up the internet!]

MY MAN: (upon seeing it) Wow! Ang yabang! Ayun! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! [It’s there! That’s awesome!]

ME: I can’t believe it!

MY MAN: Ang galing mo Babe! [Well done!]

ME: It’s a miracle!

(by this time I replied to the text message of Ched)

CHED: Lumabas na boards. [The results are out.]

ME: I know.

CHED: (pretending not to know yet) So what is the result?

ME: (pretending I’m not going insane over it) I passed.

CHED: Of course you passed. Silly you, silly you.

My youngest sister, Kulot, found out this way: one of her classmate had an elder sibling who also took the state boards so she asked her to look me up.

CLASSMATE: Ano nga pangalan ng ate mo? [What’s your sister’s name again?]

KULOT: PM

CLASSMATE: Oo nandun, pumasa! May second name ba yung pangalan ng ate mo? [Yes it is on the list! Does your sister have a second name?]

KULOT: Oo! [Yes!]

CLASSMATE: Oh yun nga nandito. Ano nga yung middle ninyo? [It is really here. What is your middle name again?]

KULOT: S

CLASSMATE: Ah oo, Salcedo [Ah yes, Salcedo].

KULOT: Anong Salcedo? Hindi Salcedo! S***** [It is not Salcedo!]

CLASSMATE: Ay oo tama, S***** nga! [Oh right, not Salcedo!]

My family found out later than I did, I did not inform them, right away but they found out soon enough. Piapot was the one manning the internet and when she found a site with the list of the passers she told me she did not say it immediately to our parents because she was so nervous she wanted to make sure she saw my name first! When she did she showed it to my family and they all laughed and cried at the same time. We were so happy!

OMG I am just overflowing with gratitude to the Almighty and to everyone who prayed for me, who believed in me, and who supported me all the way, thank you, thank you, thank you! Even to you blog friends who had me included in your prayers!

Of course I know this is only the beginning – I know so because when I said God is pouring it on in my life I really meant it. Job opportunities are creeping up one after the other, nursing related and not so much  – probably the most unbelievable is the one I got yesterday – a call from a national daily in Metro Manila with an opportunity to write for their weekly lifestyle magazine! God is so good!

At this point in my life I truly am a firm believer in the fact that God has a plan for our lives and everything happens for a reason, one that we may not understand but will sure do in time.

Last June I failed to take the board exam because of the Northcap review center scam – I did not understand why it happened but I embraced it as one of God’s disguised miracles, and in doing so I had the chance to teach, go back to the university and be Ma’am PM to my students, and now of course, finally be PM, RN. Indeed, there will always be times in our lives when we have to move and let go even when we do not know where we are going or what we are doing – because each time we do not know, surely, it is God who knows.

So many words are tumbling like water from a broken damn from inside my heart and yet I feel like all the joy inside me  is still brimming full. When I reach my old age I am assuming I will be badly wrinkled because of all the smiling I did today, and in the last days that had proven to be so wonderful and blessed ones.

Also, if you are wondering why the title of this post is a hundred smiles, it is because, coincidentally, this is PM’s 100th blog post.

Congratulations everyone, tap your shoulder, good job!