Mom's Retirement

My sweet mom retired from her almost 30 year nursing career last week. To celebrate and show how much they love her, Metropolitan Pediatrics, where she has worked most of her career, threw her a big surprise party. It took a lot of planning and conspiring to pull it off, but between the clinic and the family, we did.. and she was so surprised and touched.

She came to the restaurant under the ruse that it was a "birthday/retirement" dinner  with friends Lynn and Jerry. Needless to say she was absolutely taken back when she saw almost 50 people waiting to celebrate her!

The cake says "The beach awaits..." for two reasons. First, my mom loves the beach and I am sure she will visit there more often now. Second, her co-worker couldn't bring themselves to have it say "goodbye" or "retirement".. they are still in denial! 

Her grandkids were there with flowers for her!

Amy, Diana, and Emily.. mom's coworkers since the start!

My kids were super cute as usual! :)

BEST picture of the night! My big sis Michelle drove over from Idaho to surprise mom, too. This was a TOTAL shock and my mom just melted into tears! Great moment!

She was pretty excited to see her Idaho grand kids too!

The kids were SO excited to see their Aunt Michelle.. she's pretty rad. 

All these people love my mom and are going to miss her at the clinic!

Two Doctors that were with mom from the start gave tributes to her. They were funny, meaningful, and well done. 

Drs. Ching, Moshofsky and Moore..  we think these men are pretty awesome!

Such a fun night to celebrate my mom, who has been such an example of excellence in her career, and a role model for many. Cheers to you, mom! Enjoy this next chapter!!