West Point Ring Weekend 2011

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a bastion of many traditions. It has been an incredible learning experience for this West Point mom to learn traditions as I have progressed (and matured!) through this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The traditions begin early with figuring out how to divide a pie equally into an "odd" number of slices, how to chew food efficiently, and learning a new vocabulary filled with words like: Plebe, Yuk, Cow, Firstie, SAMI, boodle, smoke, hours, the Gray Period, poop deck, and SOSH run. West Point (and the Army) is its own universe with so many unusual terms ... many to which I am not even privy.

HOWEVER... of all this big, gray, stone institution's traditions, my absolute favorite has to be Ring Weekend. Such a happy milestone!

Interesting Facts about West Point Class Rings:

• West Point was the first learning institution to have a class ring (1835).
• Old Grads and their families donate rings back to West Point to be melded into the new metal used for the new class rings. An awesome symbol of the Long Gray Line's continuity.
• Today's cadets design their own rings, but all rings include each year's class crest.
• The cadets save money every month for their rings. It is quite an investment!

A beloved tradition of Ring Weekend is the "Ring Poop". After the ceremony's completion, Firsties (First Class Cadets or seniors) wearing their new, shiny rings are attacked by swarms of Plebes (Lowly Fourth Class Cadets who, under normal circumstances, would not be allowed to approach a Firstie in such an aggressive way). Plebes surrounding the Firsties chant in unison a very obnoxious poem regarding the new rings. Firsties try to run as fast as they are able to avoid all Plebes performing this embarrassing ritual.

I'm sad to have missed Ring Weekend, but, knowing how delighted my cadet was to have his fiance celebrate with him, made me smile

I cheered as my FDIL's (future daughter-in-law) plane landed 3:00 Friday afternoon at LGA. Every one said it would not be possible for her to make the Ring Ceremony by 5:00. Every one except another WP cadet mom who gave me the hottest NYC travel tip... ever. It took a lot of mom- prompting and assurance to my cadet that some things are well-worth the money spent, getting FDIL to the ceremony being one of them.

"Mom, we will just be standing around a lot."

When you are living West Point it is easy to lose perspective.

At last my cadet agreed to arrange for a limo to meet his fiance. She was on the airport curb by 3:20 (Only one hour and forty minutes until the Ring Ceremony!)

"My driver's name is 'Lucky'... that can't hurt my chances." was text received from FDIL (Aren't I all military-like using this new acronym?)

Imagine my delight when I received a very blurry i-Phone pic of cadets crossing the road at Trophy Point on their way to the ceremony. Whew... another Mission Accomplished! Here's to persistence, answered prayer, and a lot of Lucky!

Blurry 'cause she is running to make it!

Class of 2012 Ring Ceremony

My Cadet Fourth From the End (Photo Courtesy of West Point)

Special thanks to husband for his awesome ability to find our son in any photo.

THE Ring!

Beautiful Couple!

Meeting FDIL at the airport, I was delighted that she was delivering a special gift. To me, from my cadet.

Love it... and love the sweet note which accompanied the gift ... a note which made the present all the more special... my own little private Ring Ceremony. Wow.

Added in my note was: P.S. Don't lose this, it was very expensive!

Oh, how the roles begin to reverse... don't worry... it is now one of my most prized possessions.

Arkansas' All Academies Banquet 2010

A traditional holiday event is the All Academies Banquet. This event is very festive, and all of Arkansas' cadets and midshipmen are invited. In reality, it is an opportunity for the parents and guests to view their sons in full dress uniforms (daughters, too, however most of the young women choose to wear their civilian attire). There are formal introductions, and unique military traditions which includes toasts and a POW/MIA memory table. The banquet brings a bit of 'military' home and allows the families a glimpse into their children's military life.

Our All Academies Banquet was held at Little Rock's very beautiful and historic Capital Hotel (President Grant slept here in 1877, legend saying that Grant had been allowed to take his horse upstairs to his hotel room). The banquet food was first class and included a very unique dessert of vanilla and bacon ice cream. Every one at our table ate the ice cream with much skepticism but declared it delicious in the end.


The Capital Hotel's Tree:



We look like this very seldom:



Lastly, Me with My Awesome West Point Cadet:


It is very difficult to believe that this was our third All Academies Banquet. Although, our cadet would offer a slightly different perspective, his time at West Point is passing swiftly.

A Critical Mission - Class 2012 Yearling Winter Weekend

Everyone who know anything about West Point is very familiar with the 'Gloom Period'. It's the time after Winter Leave until spring when everything is gray...the stone walls, the uniforms, the weather, the trees, the river...

the attitudes.

In an institution of higher learning where cadets can major in everything from Engineering to Defense and Strategic Study...

all cadets minor in Complaining.

Enter West Point Class of 2012 Yearling Winter Weekend. A bright, shining jewel of freedom in the sea of gray gloom. Add a hometown GF to the mix and life becomes worth living again...if only for a short while.

Meanwhile...back at Hillcrest Cottage on Thursday p.m....the Kinleystead is gearing up for a good ol' Southern ice storm complete with the frantic grocery store rush to procure standard Velveeta and Rotel provisions.

A text from the University three hours north arrives while I am weaving my grocery cart amidst wild shoppers imagining themselves snowed in for days to come:

Class is canceled

Time to hunker down and prepare because the storm is headed our way. GF from the University 30 miles away is invited to spend the night at Hillcrest Cottage and a promise is made to anxious Cadet that the very important GF will be personally escorted to the airport securely. This is no time for Murphy to rear his ugly head!

0430 The alarm clock announces the day
0455 Road Inspection and all is clear. Parental Escort Mission downgraded from critical to formality. Expedition is ignited for de-icing and heat for the airport run.
0500 GF check.

"Are we awake and on schedule for 515 departure?"

(Enter Murphy, the despised antagonist.)

"My flight has been canceled and rescheduled for 12:30 (1230)"

It will only be worse at 12:30 was my initial feeling, and we scrambled to think of alternative plans. With the weather heading due east toward her Memphis connecting flight, Dallas seemed to be the best city from which to deliver the very important GF package. But, alas, no openings available!

0610 A sudden realization that the Expedition is still running in the driveway! Very de-iced and very warm. An are-you-crazy look from Jeff...oh, well.

0630 The decision is made to go on to the airport before the roads get worse.

0930 Little Rock National is closed for the day...possibly tomorrow, too.

1000 Directives from Kinleystead Headquarters: Book a flight out of Dallas. Against the advisement from the ticket agent, Shreveport (3 1/2 hours south) was suggested as an alternate choice. "Book it!" was the order from Cadet Mom who has determined that nothing is going to stop the GF from getting to the West Point Yearling!

1030 to 1500 An uneventful, but slower-than-usual drive to Louisiana for the 1745 departure to Dallas with a 2400 ETA at LaGuardia.

1146 Cadet Text from West Point: thanks so much mom i love you!!!

Mom Points...YES!

1500 Arrival at Shreveport Regional with a heart-stopping glitch in the agenda when GF is informed her flight is overbooked. An airline change accommodates her with an earlier flight and earlier arrival in NYC...whew. With all found to be well, the Expedition begins the return trip.

1549 GF Text from Shreveport: i just boarded my first plane

Meanwhile, the Expedition tries to make good time while there's daylight and the roads are clear. I look like I rolled out of bed at 0430, complete with bedhead and blood-shot eyes. I've had a cup of coffee and a BK cheeseburger, but knowing the roads ahead are going to be icy makes hunger and vanity fall by the wayside.

And, all goes well. I make good time. My ETA at home is 1900, and while I'm thinking about the cheese dip at Hillcrest Cottage, I'm entertaing myself with a CD found buried beneath the Expedition console's heap of random junk.

1714 GF Text from DFW: just got to my gate! ive got my boarding pass.

Dark comes for the Expedition.

1810 GF Text from DFW: they said well be boarding in ten minutes :)

The closer I get to home, the more the snow and sleet pelts my windshield. It becomes difficult to distinguish between wet pavement and ice, so my 60 mph is reduced to 30 mph. Then, the interstate quickly, like someone drew a line over the road, turns into a sheet of solid ice. Cars have skidded off the road, police lights are flashing, truckers are coming to a standstill. The Expedition is sliding down the road at a zero mph that seems much faster because I have no control at all.

Suddenly, the upcoming exit looks very good to me, and I know I just can't go any further. I should have gotten gas before this event, my phone is down to one bar with no car charger. Everything is closed, and I am picturing a very cold night alone in my car.

I exit very cautiously off the interstate and into the first parking lot. A beacon of hope, lights, and a gathering of cars appears outside a Target store ahead. People are walking in and out. It's the only thing open for miles around, and I am very thankful!

So, I meet some truckers from Canada and Texas. We drink coffee together in the Target Starbucks. I sit at the counter and watch the Target parking lot begin to fill up with 18-wheelers.

With one bar left, I call Kinleystead headquarters.

Before I can even drink my coffee and read the magazines I had just purchased, my heroes in the Jeep have navigated the 30 miles from home and are in the Target parking lot.

I wish my trucker friends a good evening.

2130 I am found eating cheese dip in Hillcrest Cottage's kitchen!

2216 GF text from NYC: I made it! we're in a taxi

With the arrival of the evening's last text message, all the events of the day faded quickly away.

The bright, shining jewel of my cadet's gray existence has appeared for him. I thank God for my I-don't-accept-no-for-an-answer personality, for His making our paths smooth-er all day, for cheese dip in a warm cottage, and for a late night walk in the snow with Davis and Mac the Labradoodle.

Electric Socks

My morning was beginning slowly...my favorite kind of beginning. The weather outside was cold and rainy. The coffee was good. Mac the Labradoodle was working on the a.m. nap quite aggressively, complete with snoring. She and I both knew it was an "inside" kind of day at Hillcrest Cottage.

A quick email check and I was "fixin'" to begin making chicken and dumplings. After that, it was on to pimento cheese and brownies for Davis' school bake sale. A very organized day...on track...until....

Glancing through the West Point Parents' online forum, there were, understandably, lots of posts regarding the Army-Navy game on Saturday. Tips on how to navigate traffic, how to connect with your cadet, weather reports (whoah....gonna be cold), and tales of the cold Army-Navy games past. More tips on how to dress, keep warm, layering...and...

electric socks.

Electric socks. Battery-operated electric socks. All at once my mind could think of nothing else but my cadet's poor frozen feet. Electric socks. Nothing would do but my cadet have the electric socks.

Chicken and dumpling pot was put aside. The pimento cheese never was made. The brownies had to wait until that night. I ran to throw on a pair of jeans. I was soon out the door to purchase the electric socks and to make it to the post office in order for the package to be over- nighted to West Point.

Options. He must have options. What if security won't let him use the electric socks? So, I bought air-activated toe warmers, insole warmers, 10-pack hand warmers (he has friends), and even an air-activated t-shirt body warmer. And, of course, the electric socks..with extra batteries.How was all this going to fit in his pockets? I didn't care. The more I thought of him in 20 degree temps for 9 hours, the more frozen he became.

I raced to the post office, chopped off my arm to pay for the overnight postage (yikes!) and returned home at 1:30 to "begin" my day.

My cadet had no idea how urgently had been my mission, that I had altered my whole day's plans, ventured into the very cold and rainy day to spend money I didn't need to spend...all because...

the concern for a child is the most powerful force on earth.

I could not help but think of this:

Just as a father has compassion on his children, so does the Lord have compassion on those who fear Him.

God, I'm asking You for some pretty big stuff right now, and I know you know how to give good gifts to Your children. I am thinking that...

The electric socks are in the mail...

even before I ask...

before I even feel the need to ask.

My New Hat

I have always loved hats...especially funky ones. They can bring so much humor into life without using words. In my younger and wilder days I had a reputation for wearing unique hats. [Disclaimer: Funky hats must be worn responsibly, only when the wearer possesses innate abilities to know when and how.] My college favorite was a moose antler hat found while skiing in Vail. The moose antler hat doesn't sound unique in today's world, but, trust me, in those days it would draw some attention. I loved that hat and wore it like it was the most normal thing I could do. Therein lies the wordless humor.

Stuart has Inherited the Gene

My Stuart is definitely the funniest person in our family. His humor is quiet and does not draw attention to itself. He has inherited the you-can-wear-a-funky-hat gene. During his 18th birthday trip to Las Vegas (with Dad to see Cirque Du Soleil's Beatle performance), he won a crazy hat which he wore with much humor. And, when I see the pics, the laughs just keep on coming.

Mom Hats

I thought I knew what it meant to wear hats but didn't really know until I became a 'mom'. Three guys call me 'Mom', so I have a multitude of hats. Naturally, the hats are added, subtracted and morphed as the seasons change.
Diaper Changer, Bottle Feeder, Nose Wiper, Story Reader were a lifetime ago.
Homework Czar, Carpool Queen, Social Director, Baseball Coach seem distant also.
At one point, it was normal for me to drive two to three hours per day. Taxi Driver Hat will be retired in August on Davis' 16th b-day.
Of course, maid, laundry mistress, and cook are hats I wear wearily. (Btw, did you know that good help is hard to find these days? Even when I am my own help.)

'Unavailable' Calls

'Unavailable' ( Whenever my West Point cadet calls, my caller ID says 'unavailable' for security reasons.) rings me up mid-evening last night. "Mom, can you help me with my taxes?"
"Clayton, the deadline is tonight at midnight." I replied trying to not sound as I-told-you-to-not-wait-until-the-last-minute-to-do-your-taxes as I felt. West Point even had tax professionals that could have assisted Unavailable . Aaarrrgghh.
"Can't you ask an upperclassman to help you? Our taxes are totally different, and are done by a professional."
"Mom, just help me out. I'm using Turbo Tax"
(Oh, great. Isn't that how our dear Treasury Secretary got himself into tax trouble? Maybe, then, if Clayton did anything wrong the IRS will be sure to extend sympathy.Ha.)
Anyway, I helped the best that I could, even added a enlightening and sagely tax-withholding commentary. When I was through with Unavailable, I reflected upon the new hat I had just worn. A new season. A new mom- of- adult- child kind of hat.

More Hats

No time for lots of reflection. More hats to wear. I wearily put a wet load of clothes into the dryer, finished cleaning a kitchen still dirty from the dinner I had cooked and served to 20 teenagers, and walked upstairs to see if youngest son was on his way to bed.

What Hats Do You Wear?
What's Your Fave/Least Fave?

USMA West Point Mom and USMA Plebe Parent Weekend 2009

A friend, who happens to also be a West Point "Old Grad", recently informed me that the term used for those who have everything "West Point" is "Gray Hog". Well...sign my husband up for that club because he practically bought ,not one , but several entire bookstores when we were at West Point for Plebe Parent Weekend 2009!

Grey Hogs

I have to be honest...just call me "Gray Hog2". It is difficult to stop myself because the West Point items are reminders of the son/plebe we have living there. However, I do not have a "West Point Mom" t-shirt or hat. Husband and I made a rule for ourselves that we just wouldn't do the ole "parent" thing in hats, t-shirts, or bumper stickers. Apparently, we perceived ourselves to be "above" that practice...ha...in the beginning...before the Gray Hog fever began.

Maybe...One Little Exception

The one exception to our "No Parent Paraphernalia" rule is my "Proud Parent of West Point Cadet" tote bag. A local bank had given the free tote bags to parents on A-Day Weekend, and I do admit to carrying this item with a great sense of pride. Love it when people ask about my Cadet at West Point.

We Have a 'Disease'

Frankly, we are extremely "gray" and very "hoggish"! On our latest weekend at West Point, as were in yet another gift store, I abruptly stopped Jeff from making a purchase by saying,"Do you really need a West Point Zippo?" To my surprise, he listened...whoa.

Reason why Gray Hog1 was right to listen to Gray Hog2 : as it turned out our West Point Class of 2012 Plebe had planned a gift for Dad.

"Here, Dad, this is your Plebe Parent Weekend favor," our son said handing Jeff a small package.

Your guess is correct...a West Point Zippo engraved with "Class of 2012"on the back.

Hmmmmm.... a bit of divine intervention in the Gray Hog1's spending spree.