The Rice Family: Commissioning- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good- I am so proud of John. He was an amazing Enlisted Marine and he will be an even better Officer. He had worked so hard to get to get to this point and couldn't be more deserving. I couldn't help but cry when I listened to him take the Oath of Office.

The Bad- For some odd reason I wanted to pack up the car early, getting three kids ready for a night out isn't an easy task. It's a good thing though b/c my keys were locked in my car and my only spare was with John in Minneapolis. Thankfully he was able to run back down here and open it up for me. If it had been a hour or two later, he wouldn't of been able to and I would of had to start making calls to borrow a van. Shortly after I sat down to feed Treston. Well the little guy wasn't feeling very well and he threw up all over me (in my dress) and all over himself. I tried to stay calm (not an easy task) and washed he's outfit really quick and spot cleaned mine. I'm a mom, I'm used to having some kind of baby-goo on me so no problem. Well little did I know that wasn't going to be the end of the drama.

The Ugly- John wanted to have a private commissioning (before the big ceremony) and General Dunford was going to be the officer to preside over it. Our family and a few friends were gathered in a room to listen. It was amazing to hear him talk about my husband. John had been one of he's Marines during the war. I know what John is capable of but to hear it out of the mouth of a man like the General made me tear up, I really am one lucky lady. Anyways as he is making these wonderful comments I am holding dear little Addison. All of a sudden she starts crying and I feel wet. Yep, I look down and my daughter has her head tucked into my chest and is throwing up all of me and her white dress. I started to panic. This is one of the most important days in our lives, there is a 3 star General talking and I have to walk out to help Addi and hopefully clean up our very messy clothing. The poor thing continued to throw up as we walk out. It was terrible. Thankfully my mom was there to help with her so I could go back in and see John take the oath.

I can laugh about it now. That day I just kept reminding myself of my friend Holly's blog name- Keep Calm and Carry On. I still had to go to the ceremony and pin John's bars on in front of hundreds of people. Then we had a BBQ we were going to after. There is no way we'll forget that day for so many reasons. Throw up or no throw up it was a great day and I couldn't be more proud of my hubby!