A Georgia Girl in Germany

“We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.”
-- Sandra Day O’Connor, first woman appointed to the Supreme Court (served Sept. 25, 1981 - Jan. 31, 2006)

One of the main reasons Mom and Dad timed their visit for Thanksgiving was so Dad could officiate my promotion ceremony. My promotion was official on Dec. 1, but we had the ceremony the day before Thanksgiving (the last “duty day” before the official date). I was getting everything gathered and set out the night before the ceremony, and Benjamin decided to try on my flight cap with major’s rank. Too cute! I think Mom has a similar photo of me wearing Dad’s major’s flight cap.

I’m not sure how Benjamin managed to make his eyes go cross-eyed like this. I don’t think I could make mine go outward! I doubt he was trying to do this though.

Don’t you just love this photo of my two favorite girls? MacKenzie and her Nana just before the ceremony.

Before the promotion part of the ceremony, my boss presented me with the Joint Meritorious Service medal for my accomplishments at U.S. European Command. I worked with Ms S (when she was a colonel) back in San Antonio. She was my vice commander there, so when she asked me if I wanted to work for her again, this time at Ramstein, I could hardly turn down the opportunity!

Then Dad started off the promotion part of the ceremony by recapping my career. He hit the highlights, and didn’t divulge anything too embarrassing. Kudos to him for studying for two days prior to get things just right.

Dad administered the oath of office. Notice how Benjamin decided to stand on the seat so he’d be as tall as everyone else!

Making it official.

Mom and Zachary pinned my new rank on my service dress jacket. I’m still having a difficult time getting used to Zachary being as tall as he is!

I then bent down for MacKenzie and Benjamin to change the rank on my epaulettes. We practiced the night before so Benjamin would know exactly what to do. It can be tricky to get the rank to slide off and on, so the plan was for Mom to help him out a bit.

But, nope, Benjamin didn’t need help. He unbuttoned the epaulette by himself. He slid off the major’s rank by himself. He slid on the lieutenant colonel rank by himself. And he buttoned the epaulette by himself. I was privy to the wonderful look of determination while he accomplished this magnificent feat -- complete with his tongue sticking out for added concentration. What a kid! I think he did so well because I hinted that there might be a treat for him if he behaved and performed well.

But first, flowers for my best friend, my rock ... my Mom.

Then I gave small gifts to each of the kids in recognition of the sacrifices they’ve made to allow me to get where I am today in my career. They’ve come to work with me more times than I care to remember -- from taking naps on the floor beside me on weekends and evenings (“Not the on-call phone again, Mommy!”) to coping when I’ve gone TDY and left them in the care of friends and relatives, especially over the past four years. They’ve really adjusted well to the somewhat-unpredictable lifestyle of the military, but I think they’re growing into much stronger individuals because of it.

Other than the gifts, I think the kids were most looking forward to having cake after the ceremony. With everything else going on, I opted not to make my own cake for this occasion. A co-worker recommended someone who makes cream cheese frosting cakes. That’s my #1 favorite kind of frosting since that’s the kind Granny Walker and Aunt Mildred used to make (and the same kind I make when I do the kids’ birthday cakes). Naturally, it was delicious!

The first three slices of cake went to my three kiddos. No surprise there!

Benjamin found a nice out-of-the-way step to sit on to devour his slice. Cake and root beer, probably the best afternoon snack he could have imagined!

Ms S commented to Zachary that it’s good to set goals, and that she’d set a goal of getting a blue tongue from the cake frosting. It didn’t take much for Zachary to decide that was a good goal to reach, so he got a forkful of blue frosting and did likewise. Don’t you just love how they both showed off their goal-reaching accomplishments!?!!

What a beautiful young lady! Yes, she also found the nice out-of-the-way step to sit on to eat her cake and drink her soda.

The whole family! I’m very thankful that Mom and Dad were able to come over for the ceremony, and that the kids were exceptionally well-behaved (they really did understand that it was a big day for me, and couldn’t have behaved any better than they did).

P.S. If you look closely behind us at the pot that the tree’s in, you can see “Spotty,” Benjamin’s Webkinz, peering over the edge.

Thanks to another former co-worker and photographer extraordinaire, Scott W., who so graciously agreed to take photos of the ceremony for me.

Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Pam's thoughts, Zachary