Just Three Words...

MAJOR NICK HORN!

The Regimental Commanding Officer, Colonel (COL) Thompson sharing some kind remarks about Nick before his promotion orders were read aloud.  Then, COL Thompson and I pinned on his new shoulder boards.  Just after that, he shook, I kissed, per his crystal clear instructions. ;)

Nick along with the amazing Major Miguel "Miggy" Gastellum & Major Cole Spitzack.

Nick and Cole chuckling at COL Thompson's analogy of the three of them being like triplets separated at birth.

Giving his very gracious acceptance speech.

The four of us!  Emmy benefited from Dada's promotion as well; she got some special new "quiet" toys to play with during the ceremony.  We got through the 20 minute formal portion with only a few Emmy interjections, and none of them involved whining, crying or screaming.  Thank you, Lord!  I nearly gave myself an ulcer from nerves over Emmy's behavior at a military function, as it's not the place for your child to have a meltdown.  She did leave her mark, though.  I do believe there were a couple of stray butterfly stickers that might not have been peeled off the folding chairs, but I'll gladly take it.  In other news, I thought black was supposed to be slimming?

So proud of the man of our house!!

Nick's promotion to Major hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday morning as I saw him off to work.  He was frantically rushing out the door as he usually does (he hates mornings), and was quickly tearing his new uniform rank out of the packaging.  After nine and a half years of service, and 12 years of sharing our lives together, I know all too well how tremendous a milestone this is.  He's gone from "Cadet Horn," to "Second Lieutenant (2LT) Horn," to "First Lieutenant (1LT) Horn," to "Captain (CPT) Horn," and now "Major (MAJ) Horn" (that has a special ring to it!)  He has needed to prove himself to earn each new rank, and with each promotion, his responsibility load has swelled.  From daily de-briefings over the past decade (plus,) I've had a front row seat to watching him grow as a leader through the experiences and challenges he's faced.  

Nick has a slightly different, perhaps more pessimistic look at the new rank on his uniform. Last night in his sleepy stupor, he informed me: "I'm old now, all Majors are old."  I countered that, at 31, he's not old.  Besides, he's a new Major, old Majors might be old, but that's a benefit of being new to the job.  Hopefully he appreciated my point, but I wouldn't know, because he was already asleep when I finally stepped off my soapbox.  Long day.

Because of his aversion to attention, Nick opted to celebrate his promotion with his good buddies, Miguel and Cole.  It was fitting, considering they all graduated from West Point and flight school together.  Nick and Cole have worked side-by-side for the better part of the last seven years (they even shared tight living quarters during their 2005-2006 Iraq deployment.)  After a time in Fort Hood, Miguel joined back up with Nick and Cole in the 160th in 2007, and the three of them comprised the Platoon leadership for their company.  Needless to say, it was so good to see them pin their new rank together after the intersecting paths they've traveled.