MAKING MEMORIES: SO PROUD OF OUR GRANDNEPHEW
In the medical field, when I student gets to the point where they will be dealing directly with patients, they get their white coats. They’ve been trained enough to deal with people, but they aren’t trained enough to handle them alone. Our Grandnephew Karim, had reached that point and this proud Great Aunt & Great Uncle were invited to the ceremony. Come along and hang with the fam!
Multiple Milestones to Celebrate
Two of our grand nephews live in the Phoenix area and with Karim’s ceremony to attend the family came in from LA, Dallas and the Detroit area. But Karim was not the only celebrant. There were several family birthdays also, Bill’s sister Mona, his grand nephew Fady (Karim’s big brother) and grand nephew Adam. Adam is the youngest member of the family and it was his first birthday. So, you can imagine we wanted to have lots of fun.
Fady found a restaurant at Papago Golf Course called, Lou’s Bar & Grill, where we could all meet. The food was mediocre, but the company was great. It was impossible for darling Adam not to be the star of the show. I’d love to show him to you, but his parents don’t want him on social media, so you’ll just have to trust me.
Then the Party was Over
I have to be gluten free in all of my food choices. I’m quite serious about it, because if I’m not, I get sick. I thought I had followed the GF p’s & q’s at Lou’s, but then I started having stomach issues. I won’t bore you with the details, but eventually it meant we had to leave. I got a little respite in the car and then when we got to our hotel, I was in severe pain.
I went almost immediately to bed, even though it was still quite early. I woke up a few hours later and unpacked my bags. It was all of 9:30 PM, but 11:30 Texas time. I went back to bed in a bit and at 11 PM, realized I’d failed to put in my retainers. I put them in and went back to sleep until my usual wakeup time – 5 AM. Thankfully, but then I felt fine.
Our Accommodations
We stayed at the the Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak. I can tell you the resort was not at its peak, but suited our needs just fine. In fact, in our room, the bedroom was separated from everything else, so it was easy for me to get up early and not interrupt Bill’s beauty sleep.
At one time, I’m sure this was a great vacation resort, but those days had passed. The food venues were either closed or mediocre. Some of the pools were closed and others needed maintenance. Frankly, everything was run down – but it was clean and it was quiet, and it had been a real bargain. There was even a water park and some other amusements. We availed ourselves of the lazy river at the water park and truly enjoyed it, in spite of it not being in top condition.
So, if location and price mean more to you than other considerations, these accommodations might be just what you need. If you’re expecting a resort atmosphere, don’t book this.
The White Coat Ceremony
Confession, I goofed up. We did not get an official printed invitation to the ceremony. We just talked to his mom and told her we were coming. I googled dental schools in Phoenix and found Arizona School of Dentistry and went with that. As we drove towards the ceremony, I got this strange feeling we were going to the wrong place. We’d chosen the hotel because it was close to where his mother told us the ceremony would be – but she hadn’t told us the name of the school – and the GPS was not taking us in that direction.
I had a little meltdown, made several calls to family members and headed towards Midwestern University, which was Karim’s school, but it was not my finest moment in travel or family relations. I felt like an idiot and the pretended I wasn’t , but I had done something idiotic!
The ceremony was wonderful. Karim was so glad we’d come and the school did a great job on the official part of things. After the ceremony we got to visit the lab where Karim was learning his trade. It was great to see how well loved and admired he was. He’s amazing!
Post Ceremony Family Time
I’d been off that morning. Bill had his turn that afternoon. At his request I’d made reservations for the tour of a historic home. Then he got with his family and totally forgot we had the reservations. He’d been all for trading snacks for dinner, but then I had to remind him of what else we had planned. When he got his brain back, we made plans for breakfast the next morning and headed off for our next adventure.
Come back next week and join us at Wrigley Mansion.
jane sadek 