Well, you may be wondering why there hasn’t been much verbage on my blog in the recent months. Instead, there has only been posts of photos. In case you haven’t noticed, Mommy writes the blog and Daddy is in charge of the photos.
The truth is that Mommy has spent her nights and weekends over the past few months studying for the ABOG (American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology) oral examination. It is the final official step in her long journey of studying medicine to becoming a board certified ob/gyn…from the MCATs (Medical College Admissions Test) to USLME (United States Medical Licensing Examination) Parts 1, 2, 3, to all of the tests in medical school, to the ABOG written and oral examinations. Of course there are future re-certification exams that continue for a lifetime, but at least those are not as grueling.
How did my Mommy do, you ask?
Well, she PASSED!!!!
Mommy said the day she found out she passed was the third happiest day of her life. The first is, of course, the day she married Daddy. The second was the day she was accepted into medical school. And the third was the day she became a board-certified ob/gyn. Where do I fit into the picture? Well, truth be told. Mommy was not particularly happy when she was pregnant with me nor when I was born. It was bittersweet. Now, of course, I can see the joy in Mommy’s eyes when she sees me, but that took a lot of persuasion on my part.
The most important thing is that I have Mommy’s undivided attention now. Mommy feels extremely guilty about taking a smaller role in my life during the past few months, but she’s making up for lost time. After all, I am irresistable!
Mommy wants to thank those who made it possible to pass the exam:
– Daddy who took care of me in the evenings and weekends so Mommy could focus on studying.
– GongGong and PoPo for taking care of our entire family for four months so Mommy could complete her case list, submit it and read through some very key literature.
– Dr. Rajan (ob/gyn) who called Mommy four to five times per week for about 1-2 hours each time to teach Mommy and quiz me over a two-month time span…all without accepting a single penny! Dr. Rajan is definitely part of a dying breed of people who really teach for the sake of teaching and loves doing it. He could have made millions running review classes, as so many other “shady” course directors have, but he never did. He also never turns away a student and took on about 10 students this year who were all taking the same oral examination, teaching them all the same way. He is truly Mommy’s secret weapon and Mommy is forever grateful to Dr. Rajan for helping her pass the boards. There is truly no one else in the world like him. (Thank you to Mommy’s colleague, Dr. Qutub, for giving Mommy this invaluable contact.)
– Lastly, but most importantly, Mommy’s faith and belief in Buddhism. This includes the Venerable Hsuan Hua, City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and its branches, the founding Dharma Master of the temple in Taiwan, Dharma Master Yo, Dharma Master Jin Shan, and Dharma Master Jin Cang. None of Mommy’s dreams would have been possible without Buddhism.