So this is more old(ish) news, from when my website was down due to the great GoDaddy and Blue Host crash of ’14. But I’m so very proud of my husband that I figure this is worth taking a moment to re-cap!
As many of you know, Jonathan joined the Navy on June 4, 2013. We have officially been a Navy family for a year and a half now! Because Jonathan’s A School and C School were so drawn out (which is why we ended up spending 8 months of our “Navy life” in Florida!) he did not get the opportunity to take the E-4 advancement exam for promotion till just a few months ago.
He was a bit nervous – depending on who you ask, the test varies from “redunkulously hard” to “piece of cake” – but he passed it with flying colors. Turns out he was in the top 10% score-wise, even!
So we started off December celebrating my husband promoting to E-4, as a Petty Officer! I was happy to learn that families were encouraged to attend the frocking ceremony. I brought my mom along so she could watch Tessa while I snapped some pictures of the ceremony (and good thing too, Tessa was an absolute fussy face, wanting to run around and explore everything!)
The ceremony was extremely laid back. After some quick Google investigating it appeared that business casual was the expected dress, but the majority of guests were in flat out casual wear – and no one seemed to mind one bit. It was all far more informal than I’d expected. Of course there was good old fashioned Navy pomp and circumstance, but for the most part, it was a very chill, short, to the point atta-boy ritual.
When we shuffled into the building, spouses and loved ones were encouraged to snap some “pinning the eagles” (or crows, I suppose) on the lapel pictures. We then made our way to our seats, while the sailors being promoted got organized and lined up in the back of the room.
After a very brief talk by the head honchos, (Tessa kept trying to talk to the man speaking, and he acknowledged her a couple of times throughout the ceremony, it was adorable and borderline embarrassing, haha) they started the individual handshakes and congratulations. One by one, the sailors were called forward in little groups, and they made their way down the line, calling out names, shaking hands and then filing out.
For the amount of sailors promoting, the ceremony was surprisingly brief, and the handshakes didn’t last terribly long. I’m not a huge fan of graduation type gatherings that just go on and on and on and on, so this whole frocking ceremony thing was right up my alley! Hehe!
So anyway, I think it goes without saying that I am so very proud of my husband! He has worked so hard ever since he joined the Navy, and his hard work has paid off time and time again – from earning the privilege to live off base with me during A School (while other married members had to stay in the barracks), to keeping his grades high and earning a duty station of his choosing (and shore duty at that!), to this newest promotion and the financial blessing it brings! I am extremely proud of my husband. He is my best friend and a true provider for our little family.
Nice job! And to have scored in the top 10% is fabulous.
I love the rich photos of the event. I can see so many emotions, and a lot of pride!
You get into photos, don’t you? What’s your secret??
I feel like my photos are always of my family and I’m not in them.
I love taking photos.. almost too much! I’m usually so behind the camera I will later feel like I missed the event I was photographing, if that makes any sense. I am lucky that my husband loves taking photos as well, so he snaps pictures of me (when I let him have the camera that is, haha).. also, I am not shy at all about asking others to take pictures of the family as a whole! 😉
Aww, I was so smiling throughout all your photos and your last line was just so sweet! Huge congrats to your husband and you definitely have every right to be proud and gushing here about it!! 🙂
LOL, when I wrote that last line, I was like, “Jonathan is gonna bop me for being so sappy!” 😉