Then the four Japanese medical admirals and Mike's fleet counterpart deposited five enormous bottles of sake and a gallon of 13-year old Jameson's Irish whiskey on my kitchen counter enroute to shaking hands with our guest of honor, the U.S. Navy Surgeon General. Unless I can figure out a way to smuggle all this alcohol back to the U.S., it seems we'll be hosting another big bash sometime in the coming year.
Although VADM Robinson was the nominal guest of honor, the true celebrities were the spouses of Navy doctors and nurses currently serving in Afghanistan. Women like Cheryl and Sue, pictured here with the Surgeon General, inspire me to be (a little) less self-centered. The Navy in general and Navy Medicine in particular could do a much better job of supporting IA families. Feel free to flag that previous sentence as an understatement.
Not pictured, alas, are Jen and Cormac O'Connor. Had Jen not taken it upon herself to arrive early, the cherry tomatoes would still be piled in one refrigerator and the feta-and-basil stuffing in the other. Had Cormac not strolled in waving his official invitation right behind Party Crasher #1, I might not have wet my pants laughing. And had they both not insisted on cleaning up after the party, I would have been up to my elbows in dishwater when James, Emily, and Aunt Suzi arrived for Matt's graduation two days later.
Ben had a good chuckle about your party too- someone was impressed that he was invited to the party. He replied, "it was because of my wife not me." I saw VADM Robinson the next day. He said, "Tell Xan, Yuko & I said hello." Ben loved that! He loved chatting up Boy Scout stories with Clement too. Many thanks for a night of fun.
ReplyDeleteKathy you have been so kind and generous to my family during our first IA journey. You took it upon yourself to let me know you were here for us when I had not even met you. Thank you so much for embracing my family. You have made a huge difference in our lives.
ReplyDeleteOh, stop it! Those of us whose husbands come home most every night cannot begin to do enough to thank you and your children for your sacrifices and to lighten your load for a few minutes or hours whenever an opportunity pops up. We need to invent more opportunities!
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