Friday night’s Raider Brigade Ball was a lot of fun. Was it worth $70 and six very long hours away from my daughter? You’d have to ask me in 10 years when I look back on my first and probably only military ball.
In the meantime, I’ll say it was nice to dress up with my husband, even if the zipper on my dress did break off at the last minute and I ended up pulling an old dress from high school out of my closet. And it was nice that Josh and I got some time to ourselves, even if I did obsessively check my phone for any word on how Anastasia was doing. It was fun to eat fancy catered food, even if we stopped at McDonald’s on the way home. And it definitely was an honor to spend the evening with so many of our nation’s heroes, even if some of those heroes — namely, my husband — weren’t exactly smooth with the electric slide.
The evening got off to a rough start when we ran late. My husband would blame me for that, but I’m sure it’s somehow his fault that my hair refused to hold its curl. Still, when we arrived we’d missed nothing, so all was well again.
We talked to a few people I know and a slew of people Josh knows and I don’t — because that’s the story of any military spouse’s life. We ate, laughed and even danced a little before I finally couldn’t take it anymore and rushed us home to pick up our baby.
The evening, in its entirety, was a hit. I’m proud to say I’ve now attended a military ball, and even if it wasn’t the fairy tale I’d built up in my head, I’m still honored to be part of such a timeless tradition honoring our soldiers and their families.