Last Friday was the big day, the retirement ceremony for my husband from the USAF.  This was emotionally difficult for me.  How could we celebrate when we had an uncertain future?  Some of my friends had known how this has weighed heavy on my heart.  That morning I found numerous e-mails encouraging me to enjoy the day.  Their kind words helped me to focus on the celebration on the 24 years of my husband's service to our country.  Thank you sweet friends!

     One of those friends got to attend the ceremony!  I met her a couple of years ago on-line, through our Tapestry of Grace yahoo group.  Since then she and her family moved into the area and our families have had wonderful times together!  Several times before the ceremony she called me to encourage me and lighten my heart! To make the day extra special, her husband, the lieutenant colonel, officiated at the ceremony.  We were incredible blessed to have them and their 7 children join us.  I know my children were especially glad to have their friends there, as was I! I love being with her kids.  We can talk and talk and talk. We spent a lot of time dreaming of the possibilities of doing things together on the East Coast. They will be moving east and my husband is currently interviewing for a job in Virginia! (This has been the only nibble of a job and we would be ecstatic if it goes through!  They are currently negotiating salaries, except the guy who does this is now off for a week!  Oh the wait is torturous!) During the reception, her little boy came to me and took my hand and asked me if he could play with my brother (my son).  Their presence, along with many other friends from the military and from church and family, made the day special.

     I thought it was extremely clever that the Lt. Col. used his cell phone as a visual aid to open the ceremony with a scenario of a typical day at the office and then to represent my husband's career in telecommunications.  For most of his 24 years, he has worked on the computer end of telecommunications.  In recent years, he has been in the forefront of an emerging field, that of support in network defense. 

     The shadow box my husband received (and built) is a reminder of his 24 years of service.  We all know how the military moves around quite a bit, right?  Well he grew up in upstate New York then joined the USAF after getting a degree in building construction.  Here are his base assignments since joining the USAF:

1-Lackland AFB (San Antonio, Texas) for basic training

2-Sheppard AFB (Wichita Falls, Texas) for tech school

3-Korea

4-Kelly AFB (San Antonio, Texas)

5-Sheppard AFB (Wichita Falls, Texas) more tech school

6-Kelly AFB (San Antonio, Texas) we met and got married

7-Sheppard AFB (Wichita Falls, Texas) to teach at the tech school; our children were born during this time

8-Korea

9-Randolph AFB (San Antonio, Texas)

     When he first came to Texas, he was not pleased.  He said it was flat.  He said that we didn't have any trees, only lots of bushes.  We didn't have snow, nor autumn, nor spring, only heat.  At least he couldn't find the tumbleweed he saw in all the movies.  No, he was never a fan of Texas.  Finally, by the time our oldest was born, he was resigned to his lot in life and became a Texas resident! In fact, I found a bumper sticker that I got for one of his Christmas stockings one year. It read, "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could!"  He loved it, although it is no longer on the van.  When my mom found out about it, she said she almost bought that for him, but knowing how much he did not like Texas, she didn't dare.  He now has lots of positive things to say about Texas.  There are some hills.  In fact, we do have mountains in the West that are taller than any in the East! (Now there's a GeoBee statistic for you!)  We get snow once in a while.  He likes the tall trees I picked out for our yard, whereas his trees just don't grow!  lol  He knows now where to find Piney Woods, spring and autumn in this big state.  Also he got a wife, two children and a cat here, so what is he going to do?  He finally broke down and bought a cowboy hat!  And he likes country music the best!   Therefore, representing these years of service, are the American flag and Texan flag in his shadow box.  The flags were flown over the respective capitols.     

     My husband wanted to give a little history on the folded American flag, which is triangular shaped.  He read that the triangle represents the tricorn hats of our first American soldiers during the American Revolution.  I was impressed that he found a way to connect to my favorite historical era for the retirement ceremony!  =)  However, he wanted to know WHY and HOW the triangle came to represent the tricorn hat, so he asked me to do a little research so he could use it in his speech. 

     After much investigating, I found some debate on this.  I try to be careful with the veracity of my sources, especially when I research on-line, however I could not find anything definitive.  I couldn't even find any information on this at the Colonial Williamsburg web site, which is always the place I go to first.  Apparently, there is a reason for that.  After reading through several accounts, the folding of the flag did not originate with the purpose for anything patriotic.  Some accounts say that flag folding began before the American Revolution.  Others said that after the Spanish American War, someone decided to make an official fold unique for the American flag, to set it apart from the usual method of folding a sheet or blanket in a square.  The triangle happened to be a compact, neat  and unique means of accomplishing the objective.  Later, apparently a chaplain at the USAF Academy, assigned patriotic meaning to what is done with the flag.  Hence came the 13 folds into the triangle to represent the 13 colonies.  The triangle shape represents the tricorn hat.