Anniversary Celebration

Exactly one week after having my wisdom teeth removed, Jeff's hospital was having a big black-tie event in celebration of its centennial anniversary. Jeff and I were planning on going, but after finding out my wisdom teeth would be coming out the week before, we decided not to get tickets-they were way too expensive to buy them and not use them.

As it turns out, Jeff ended up getting a free ticket the day of the event. He called me up about noon and asked if I wanted to go. At that point I was feeling pretty good and my swelling was pretty much gone. I didn't know if I would be able to eat the food- since I was still on a pretty soft food diet- but it sounded like a great evening, so I said yes. Luckily I was able to find a babysitter and Jeff and I went out at for the evening.

It was a pretty amazing night- the hospital really knows how to put on a party. Many of the men were in tux's and women in formal gowns. They started the evening out at 6pm with a social hour and then started into the welcoming ceremonies which included an opening prayer given by a member of the hospital board and a special music presentation by Billy Dean and a local choir.

From there, they had an amazing 5 course dinner. We ended up sitting at a table with a few other doctors that also worked with the health system. It was great getting to know them and their wives- one was both a lawyer and triathlete; she and I had a lot of fun visiting together.

I was pleasantly surprised with the food too- a lot of it was soft enough that I could actually eat it. Some of my favorites were the pheasant chowder that was divine, steamed vegetables, and coconut-crusted halibut. I'm not sure what the dessert was, but it was pretty good too. I didn't get to enjoy the steak-still too hard for me, but Jeff sure did.
During the dinner, there was a world renown heart surgeon giving a lecture on the future of healthcare. It was absolutely mind boggling. I told Jeff that I could have attended only for the lecture and had a wonderful night- it was that amazing! It's incredible the advances that are being made in the world of health care.

There was also a special presentation on the hospital including early history and founders, as well as current happenings and its mission and goals. The hospital is very much centered upon the teachings of Jesus Christ. It was so uplifting and made us both feel so incredibly grateful that Jeff gets to be part of such an amazing religious healthcare system that truly encompasses spirituality and charity in its mission. I've really never seen anything like it. It's wonderful to see the hospital thriving and blessing so many lives.

Of course the night wouldn't be complete without some music and dancing. They had hired a group- with a couple of them being American Idol finalists- to put on the music that evening. They did everything from Frank Sinatra to Elvis to Adele. It was pretty entertaining and we had a lot of fun dancing together. Jeff's favorite part was watching some of the nuns go up and break out the moves. We finally called it an evening at 10:30 and headed home. It's always nice when the babysitter has kids in bed asleep and the house completely in order. It was such a great evening, and I'm so glad we got to be a part of it.