It Certainly Ain't Bust !!!

Saturday was like any other weekend. We slept in a little bit, then decided to have brunch at Nonni's. From there, we stopped by the local farmer's market across the street. My wife got olive oil and balsamic vinegar, while I bought a variety of flavored almonds. We also dropped by my wife's favorite running shoe place, called Fleet Feet, on Main Street, and got herself a pair. By the time we headed home, it was almost 1:30pm.

On the way back, we were quite anxious, especially my son. Since we didn't get anything in the mail from Bellarmine on Friday, we were hoping for something on Saturday. At first, he didn't want to come with us because he wanted to be around when the mailman came. As soon as we got home, he immediately jumped off the car and headed for the mailbox. But nothing. No big envelope from Bell. He got more frustrated. He went straight to his room and took a nap.

We figured that we probably misread the Bell information on the acceptance notification. I looked it up at their website, and it did say that the letters would go out Friday. It didn't mean we were receiving it on Friday. With any luck from the postal service, we might get it on Saturday. But that didn't happen either. We were resolved with the fact that we might get something on Monday, or the postal service really sucks. Another sad, frustrating day, to say the least.

Sunday was a distraction. We had our volleyball Jamboree at All Saints. At least, there was a diversion. Something to keep my son's mind off Bellarmine.

Our first match at the Jamboree was scheduled at 3pm. As we were warming up, I got a call from a 408 number. Somehow it went through my Google Voice number. I answered but no one spoke on the other end, so I hung up. After a couple of minutes, my cellphone rang again. Same number. I answered but nothing. I guess it went to voicemail. Soon after, I received a weird text message. It was a transcription of the voicemail that was left by the caller. The message didn't make sense, and, for a while, it looked like a hoax or something that was sent in error. It said something about "dollar rent" and my son's name. I didn't think my son would be renting a car from Dollar. But I didn't delete it.

After our first game, I got a text message from my wife asking me to check our home voicemail. Apparently, Bellarmine had been calling those who applied. This probably explains the 408 number I received. But as much as I wanted to be excited (or nervous) about it, I couldn't because I had two more matches to play. And at this point, this kind of distraction to me and my son was something we cannot afford. So I went on with my business for the remainder of the hour.

Once we completed our third game, we went outside the gym and had a little chat with the players, while they had their snacks. Then, we parted ways. James and Nick went back inside to watch the next game. In the meantime, the call and the text messages all came back to me, and I knew I had to figure out what was going on. In reading the weird text message, I had a pretty good feeling that we would be receiving positive news, but I was still cautious. The message had the word "congratulations", but no Bellarmine anywhere. I was optimistic.

Finally, I was able to figure out how to access the voicemail, and I heard it firsthand. Just to be sure, I played it over and over and over again. Probably 3 times. He DID get in. James got accepted to Bellarmine. I was ecstatic. It was a big relief, like something taken off my shoulders. So what's "dollar rent"? I guess this was how "Bellarmine" sounded. Go figure. I texted my wife and she was so happy. She was with a few other prospective Bell moms for a day in the city, so they, too, got excited.

All the commotion started when a mom of one of James' classmates posted his son's acceptance on Facebook. Suddenly, all the prospective Bell moms started texting and calling for any news from anyone.

On our way home, Nick rode with us. I didn't tell anything to James either, not with Nick around. I guess somehow the word had already spread, and James had gotten a text message from his other classmates. You can imagine that this information didn't help ease his anxiety one bit. It made it worse. We dropped off Nick at Ohlone College, and his dad said he hadn't gotten any calls either. During the ride back, James had been bugging me to check the voicemail as soon as we arrived. I said I would.

When we got in, his mom was seated by the dining table. I called him, then played the voicemail from my cellphone. He heard it, but the wanted to be sure. So I played it again, and louder. He started jumping, then hugged his mom.

He DID make it. My son will continue the Jesuit tradition. He got accepted at Bellarmine College Preparatory.

Excellent, son. We're so proud of you.