retired

Well, my dad is officially retired now. The past four days have been overwhelming but great. It was amazing to see the hundreds of friends, family, and colleagues who came to support my dad both at his farewell reception dinner and the official ceremony. There were people from every assignment and every place we've ever lived; people we hadn't seen in ten or fifteen years. It was one big blast from the past and it was awesome. 

General Petraeus was a pleasure to meet again and it was really special to see the camaraderie and friendship between him and my dad from when they served together years ago. The ceremony was supposed to be outside, with canons and flags and the whole shebang, but unfortunately the rain moved it inside. It was a little disappointing at first, but being inside ended up making the ceremony much more intimate and personal. There were still canons and flags, we just watched them on the screen from inside. 

Because it had to be moved inside, the auditorium could only hold 350 people, so all the other people went to "satellite" screens elsewhere in the headquarters and watched it on screen. Little did we know, that the ceremony was being broadcast throughout the globe at various military locations. And apparently it was on the Pentagon Channel on Thursday night, being broadcast all over the world, including the part in the ceremony when my dad asked my sisters and I to stand up in front of everybody to receive flowers. (!)

It was a bittersweet ocassion. It's rather sad to think that my dad is no longer an active duty General in the Army. But it's exciting to see my parents enter the next phase in life and start their next adventure. They are starting off right by heading to Australia and the Pacific for a month of travel! Retirement is good!