I'm in!!!!

So today is the day! The anticipation is over and the participation begins! Well maybe there is still some anticipation, little moments here and there that I will have to be careful to cherish, but the big anticipation of waiting for that acceptance letter is gone, because the acceptance letter arrived today and is currently hanging on my refrigerator just like a 5th grader's math test!

At about 1:00 this afternoon I decided to take a walk out to the mailbox with Jobie, my dog. Something inside me was saying this was the day, but something else was telling me not to get too excited because the wait may not be over yet. I opened the mailbox to find a bunch of envelopes, most of them white, but one of them off-white -- it stood out like a sore thumb. In my head I knew this was the letter I had been waiting for! In between the feeling that I was going to vomit and the explosive excitement, I mustered the courage to open the letter. I slowly read the word "Congratulations!" at the beginning of the first paragraph and realized I was in! I began dancing around the kitchen as Jobie looked up at me with a puzzled look, simply wanting a cookie for doing what he is supposed to do outside. I AM OFFICIALLY A RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE NURSING SCHOOL STUDENT!!!! It is almost impossible for me to recognize that this is real -- I am still sort of in that "Pinch me, am I dreaming?" state. I finally have the answer I have been waiting *patiently* (or maybe not so patiently) for. I can move ahead with my plans for the future!

There is a large part of me that realizes how much work I have ahead of me, and that this is really just the very beginning of a long journey. I have fuel for my trip -- a wonderful family whose support means the world to me, amazing friends whose presence in my life is just as necessary to me as is the air that I breathe, and most importantly -- God. With these, anything is possible, and I am ready. I promise, with all of you as my witnesses, that I will give this my all. I know there will be tears, struggles, late nights, long days, challenges and obstacles, but I will perservere. A dear friend, Nancy Armstrong, reminded me that God sees the people in the future that need my care. He will be sure that I am by their side when they need me -- just as He is by my side when I need Him (and even when I don't!). This journey will be precious, one of the most important ones I will take and I am SO THANKFUL for this opportunity! I will not let myself lose site of the fact that I have been given an amazing gift, and I will cherish each moment as it comes -- and this blog will include those moments so that when I am old and senile I can be reminded of it all.


I look forward to sharing the details of my journey with you!