A Ball by any other name...

We recently had the honor of attending the Marine Corps Officers Ball on November 10th (the Marine Corps 234th Birthday). As civilians, we gathered our finery … me in a new dress (with my newly improved and reformatted body) and Mick in a Tux. I’d never seen Mick in a tux…yep he looked pretty darn good. We went to the tux shop and he was at home. Only time I’ve seen him more excited is in a candy shop! I think he’d dress that way every day given the opportunity and purpose. For me, I wandered thru many, many stores….so what’s that about – there are no formal dresses out there. It’s the holidays! Where are the formals? Luckily Macy’s came thru and I tested out my new body in a new "small" dress…..that was pretty cool.

Going to the Ball is hard to explain. First, it is definitely more of a ceremonial event than a ball. You sort of picture a formal ball, like you see in the movies (An American President, and all that)…everyone dancing the Waltz. Once past that, it really was an inspiring event. First, I love men in uniform (a Tux works too!) It was impossible to be at the Ball and not envision my mom and dad there years ago. I guess as a little girl I always heard about the Ball and equated it to sparkling chandeliers, orchestral music, Prince Charming (in uniform) and a bit of Cinderella. As the Major General gave his speech and walked thru the history of the Corps, the wars fought and the men and women lost, you truly felt you were sitting in part of history. There was a power, a history, a feeling of legacy about the night that is hard to put into words. It was an honor to be among the men and women in the room. It is an honor to be the daughter of one of those men lost in battle.