What a night! Somehow in 11 years, we've only managed to attend 3 Dining Outs: our first on Whidbey a few months after Nikolas was born, the second in Pensacola, and the third last Saturday night in Annapolis. For those of you unfamiliar with the military, the Dining Out is a military tradition (dating way, way back) honoring the traditions of the Navy as well as its service members. It's an evening of celebration honoring those who have served and those who have perished while serving. One part of the dinner gets me every time: it's the tribute to the POW/MIA. A table is symbolically set (empty chair depicting an unknown face, black napkin for the emptiness created by their loss, wine glass turned upside down reminding us they cannot be with us to toast the festivities, etc). The merriment of the evening pauses as we all silently honor these men and women. It's a heavy moment.... it brings tears to my eyes every time. (And now, as I write this entry one week following the event, it makes the moment even more real. This week we lost 4 members of our VT-86 family in Pensacola in a plane crash.) But, unfortunately that's an ever-present risk when answering that call to duty. It's appreciated how the Navy (and especially this command here) hosted a fabulous evening that encompassed all that is our military life. ANCHORS AWEIGH! =)
Sven's dad and his wife visited us from Pittsburgh this weekend. It was so nice to have them care for Nikolas while we spent the evening out AND to have a photographer to capture us all dressed up (such a rare occurence for us!).
These are our good friends Gregg and Dawn. We have known them since our Pensacola years and they're a very welcome addition to our life here in Maryland! It's always so fun to have your paths cross years later. Ahhh....the stories..... =)
Boys will be boys.....serving our nation well. They deserve this moment!
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