Once in a Lifetime...

So a couple weeks ago, my Dad asks me if I want to be his date to the Deseret Management Corporation Christmas dinner. "Don't feel obligated. I know you're busy, and maybe you just don't want to, which is fine." I told him I'd love to go.
We walk onto the 9th floor of the JSMB today and one of the first things someone says to my dad is, "You're at President Packer's table." Uhhh...So we check out the seating chart. Some names that stuck out to me: Thomas Monson, Russell Nelson, Todd Christofferson, Sheri Dew, Henry Eyring. The entire First Presidency was there, as were 9 of the 12 Apostles. How very like my dad to play it down and act like he'd have to twist my arm to go.
Anywho, we sat down with President and Sister Packer and 4 others. One of those four was Brent Singleton--head of Temple Square Hospitality. What does this have to do with anything? Well I'll tell you. We sat next to these people for 2 1/2 hours during which we were brought 3 different courses. This man Brent is the head guru in charge of ALLLL church food services. And of course I wasn't really hungry. As the waitresses bring our food, fill our drinks, and ask us if we're done, he's calling them each by name. He's sitting there explaining what we're eating, what's in the sauces and such, and keeps glancing at my plate because I was hardly eating. I felt really bad. Sorry, Brent. I did, however, find room for most of the dessert. I'm really good at that.
President and Sister Packer kindly asked me about my mission call, when I'm leaving, where I'm going to learn Spanish. Sister Packer is sooo sweet. I like her a lot. President Monson was sitting directly behind me. I couldn't help looking at him and President Packer and thinking about how I'll soon be testifying about them to the people in Bolivia. That puts a different perspective on things.
President Uchtdorf spoke to us. All the Brethren are so likeable. He shared some of what President Monson said at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional--about how much we find joy in the Christmas season is dependent upon how much we seek Christ. Something like that--something I hadn't remembered hearing in the devotional. President Uchtdorf also said this, which I really liked, "Unity brings harmony." It reminded me of the C.S. Lewis quote from the Great Divorce: "Even on the biological level life is not like a pool but like a tree. It does not move towards unity but away from it and the creatures grow further apart as they increase in perfection. Good, as it ripens, becomes continually more different not only from evil but from other good."
Afterward, I got to meet Elder Holland. Yay! I love that man. Most all the life-changing talks I've heard or read have been from him. I can remember vividly how I felt during his talk on Prison Temples at BYU, how I felt when he spoke about the nature of God in conference a couple years ago, and how I felt during his conference talk about the Book of Mormon a year ago. For whatever reason, he speaks my language. My dad introduced me and told him that he has a lot of fans in the Maxwell household. Elder Holland said, "We sure have a lot of Maxwell fans in our household!" His wife was absolutely so gracious. When she heard I'm serving a mission, she was so happy for me and told me she's proud of me. She said Bolivia is one of her favorite countries. Elder Holland asked me where in Bolivia I'll be serving. He said he's been in the mission home of Santa Cruz, etc. He asked about my momma and he said, "How's AJ? Tell AJ hi." With all the stuff he has on his mind, it amazes me that he thinks to ask those things, much less to remember NAMES.
I also got to meet President and Sister Uchtdorf. President Uchtdorf kept telling my dad how much he loves and appreciates him. He told me how amazing my dad is. Many people did the same lol.
As we were leaving, I also met Elder and Sister Nelson, and Elder and Sister Andersen. Sister Andersen is TINY! And adorable. She kept talking about Grandma Colleen and how she wants to be like her, how she needs to call her and stop by, etc. Elder Andersen was super nice. All the Brethren were so great to socialize with people when they have so many duties. The most amazing men out there. President Monson was being accosted left and right lol.
Anyway, good night. I was just grateful to be in the presence of such amazing men.
Tomorrow's my last day of work! Hallelujah! Sad in some ways, but also relieving since I have lots to do before I leave. Speaking of which, time to go study.