The Day Darren Became a Nurse Anesthetist

The day Darren took his Nations Boards test and became a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist will not be easily forgotten.  It was a day we had been working towards for 7 years.  He scheduled his test at 11:20 so we could get up, go running, have a relaxing breakfast, and he wouldn't feel rushed.  It didn't happen that way.  About 9:30 in the morning a pipe about 200 feet from our downstairs toilet got clogged.  I was doing a load of laundry and as the water started draining it had no where to go- so it came pouring up out of the downstairs toilet- along with a bunch of sewer water.  It was complete chaos.  We were trying everything as the water kept pouring and pouring. We used all of our towels and buckets.  It was awful.  I took pictures, but I'll spare your eyes from them except the following one.

We had 2 inches of sewer water in our bathroom, entry, and into my office area.  This may have been one of the least fun experiences I have ever had in my life. In the midst of all this it was time for Darren to go take his test! Not the best thing to help him relax right before the biggest test of his life.  I told him to go and not worry about it.  I called our Management group and then I called the City.  I stood there not knowing what to do.  I had used all our resources- towels, buckets, shop vac.  But this was a job for a major truck. So I took a beach chair out front and read a book till the management company got there.  I felt bad for the poor guys who had to vacuum it all up.  It took  a while but we finally got it cleaned up.  My sweet Relief Society president came and helped me bleach everything.  Then Darren called. I grabbed the phone. He was crying when he told me he passed.  We both just cried. 

When Darren got home he picked me up and swirled me around and we hugged and hugged. The kids all jumped around us excitedly.  I wish we had gotten it on camera- because it was a sweet moment.  One I will never forget.

Let me tell you a little bit about the test. The computer starts off giving hard questions.  If you do well the computer will shut off at 100 questions- which means you rocked the test or miserably failed it.  If you are just doing ok with the questions it will keep giving you questions- up to 170.  So if you get 170 questions and pass- it means you barely passed. Of course Darren got 100 questions and the test stopped.  Which means he rocked the test. I am not surprised considering how hard he studied for this lest the last 2 1/2 years.

We could not stop smiling! Nor did we want to! This was an amazing day!