We had one other big event over Thanksgiving besides the holiday itself : Sailor/Husband/Father's reenlistment! Typically, when it is time to reenlist, the military member will do so at his/her command on a typical workday, with little to no fanfare other than a cake if someone remembers. However, if the person desires, they can do it just about anywhere they want, and can designate their own reenlisting officer, as long as that person is a commissioned officer and is willing to do so. We are lucky enough that my own brother just happens to be a former commissioned Naval Officer and is now a commissioned Air Force Officer stationed back home in Minneapolis! It is kind of rare that we are home at the same time and my brother is not off flying somewhere, so we decided to make the most of it by having him reenlist my husband while we were home on leave. We decided to have the ceremony at my dad's home post of the American Legion, figuring he would get a kick out of one of his son's reenlisting the other, and I think the old timer members of the American Legion enjoyed having some young guys around (fresh meat!) to listen to their stories!
For those military members out there, I know you can appreciate having the whole family around to witness the reenlistment, it's a big event for us! Here are some photos of the evening's festivities:
Prior to the ceremony my brother and husband enjoyed talking with the veterans hosting us and I got surprised by one of the old timers whipping out his iPhone to swap battle hymn ringtones with me!
Family members, not sure if Loch & Finn realize what's going on exactly
The first video is my brother administering "The Oath" to hubby, followed by a clip of him reading a letter from hubby's Commanding Officer back at the squadron.
The American Legion Members that hosted us were kind enough to open their private bar down in the basement and bought us a round of drinks afterwards. Here is Finnegan with his "round of Sprite", which he thought was very cool!
It often seems that we are stuck out here on the East Coast, living a life that none of our family sees and often feel alienated from the "real world" back home, but being able to do this with our family around helped us bring a little of our lifestyle back there, even if the uniform raised a few looks in the little town, lol! Lastly, a huge "Thank-You!" to my brother who did an amazing job, even recognizing the sacrifices made by myself and my children and putting a personal touch on such an important event. I have seen many reenlistments in the past 20 years, and he spoke more professionally and eloquently than any senior officer I have seen. Thanks, my "brotha from the same mutha" - can you do it again in 4 more years?!
I sincerely believe it is the spouse and family of a military person who does the most sacrificing and I give you all the credit in the world for it. It's a lifestyle that comes with more stresses than the average family endures and takes a special woman to be the wife of a military man. I think you are special . . . in many ways.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Ceremonies are important. Thanks for sharing this one with us all.
Woohoo! Here's to another four years. :)
ReplyDeleteThat was neat to see, very cool your brother could be a part of it. I would that ceremony is a big deal, even if you do it 5 times over the course of your career.
ReplyDeleteI love that your whole family is tied to the military in one way or another, and more importantly, we can feel your pride- LOVE IT!
Thanks for sharing that with us, I don't think I could hold down this fort with out my husband...well maybe I could since you do what you have to- but I can tell you all I would NOT do it well. It takes a strong woman to run a household by herself, hats off to you !! (And to sailor/husband- tell him our family says thank-you for his service.)
Thanks everyone! I must admit this life is all I have known, so it isn't as hard as it could be. I think hubby would get injured if he was around here more often, I am too used to running the homefront myself - we have never been together for more than 4 months at a time, so there would be trouble, lol Thankfully, we live in a community which is almost 75% military, so the kids don't feel "different" than the others, our schools here even offer an afterschool program for kids dealing with deployments. It could be worse!
ReplyDeleteA little late, but add my thank you for the post, I feel honored and humbled to have shared in such an intimate ceremony. You have make such a peaceful life for you and your family - a balanced life - that sounds about as perfect as you can get!
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