Turning back into a Pumpkin

Me and my HOT date at the Marine Ball!

I wish I would have taken a picture of the back of my hair and dress... bummer.

B's buds

some friends

Our table

Ambassador Foley and the Marines stationed at our Embassy

I remember always feeling like a visitor in the military experience ALL of my life. I always felt like I was just steps away from being one of them. All I needed was to sign up. Last night was no different. Growing up, I was able to live in Colorado Springs where there is the Air Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base, Fort Carson Army Base, NORAD, and lots of other military "stuff." Very specific, I know. I have had lots of friends that were military. I have dated some from the Air Force Academy and a few Army men. I had some family who were and still are military and have had lots of friends who were military.

Then moving to Utah, one of my best friends was ROTC and then again, some friends of mine were at Hill Air Force Base or came from a military family. Then after I get married, B and I move to the East Coast where military is EVERYWHERE. I end up being close friends with a plethora of those in all the different branches of the military. I now speak their lingo, I understand their different rankings, how their pay scale is slightly different, their different benefits, and many of their likes and differences. I have seen their GREAT sacrifice. But I am still an outsider looking in with proud adoration. (I even sneaked into their commissary and PX a few times thanks to some military friends who let me tag along to look. shh!)

Last night I had the opportunity to attend the Marine Ball in Budapest, Hungary. It was spectacular and really helped me further my education about how the military functions and reiterated the fact of their importance and sacrifice. Plus, it was a blast! We got to go to one of the best hotels in Budapest, actually built into the Var Castle Wall, and be around some of our good friends here. Some of them military, and some of them not.

All in all, I am glad for those in my life who have sacrificed so much to be able to serve in the capacity that they have in the military. They have sacrificed more than you know. Deployments lasting up to 18 months, gaining injuries, people telling you what to do, being away from family, getting some mental and/or emotional issues because of the situations they have been in or things they have heard/seen, you don't get a huge paycheck, and going to WAR!

I know this is a crude analogy, but it's what I can relate with: Pregnancy. Thank goodness it only lasts 9 months. I definitely gain injuries, aka spewing, but also injuries to my pride. I just can't do everything that I want to do. I do get more emotional, fatigued, HUGE, and it is a huge financial burden. And we can't forget LABOR! This is a trivial comparison, but I hope you see the analogy and how I likened it to something that I know well.

I am just glad and proud that there are people willing to fight what we fear. They go in when everyone else is running out. They pay the price when we raise the prices. Hope you get what I'm saying. Also, you can't forget the wives/husbands who have to watch their wives/husbands go through all this. I hope I gave an appropriate tribute. They actually deserve more than what I just said. . . and MORE. Thanks for the fun night, Marines!

*And yes, we were back by midnight! Maleia noticed since the next morning she said, "You turned back into my mommy!" Yes Maleia, I changed back just like Cinderella. :)