On your mark....get set...... GO!!!!!!!! I'm sorry, but it's a RANT!

Yesterday was my husband's last day of work, for this particular unit anyway. Usually for the last day at one's unit you should expect some sort of send off, or at least some sort of recognition for the time that you served there for a job well done. My husband had no knowledge if anything had been planned for him, so I asked for him to give me a call when he knew when whatever festivities were planned were going to occur.

At 8:45 my phone rings. It's my darling husband, who says "How fast can you get here? There is a ceremony thing at 9:30." I look down at my unshowered self, still in pajamas, the kids with their snarled hair, and at the baby unfed, but napping on my bed.

"Um...." I wimpered, "It will be a miracle, but I will see what I can do." And hung up.

20 minutes later, I had 2 beautiful girls dressed in their Sunday best with their hair in pigtails, myself showered (is it considered a shower if you only get to stand under the water for 2 minutes?), dressed, with make-up applied, and the baby, who was content with a dry diaper and secured in her carseat......we peeled out of the driveway.

I squealed into the parking lot exactly 0928, and herded the brood into the building at precisely 0:930, feeling very proud of my accomplishment. I was feeling even more proud of my husband, who was expected to receive some sort of medal of achievement that day.

We stood and watched as several men were commended for their work that day. When the ceremony was over, I realized that my husband was NOT one of them and was very very confused. My husband was as well. As a matter of fact, several people looked confused and asked why I was there....if my husband was supposed to be getting something too.

Come to find out, that my husband's medal had been LOST. Lost??!?!? Are you joking me??!!?!? My husband puts in four years of his time, shedding his blood, sweat, and tears for this unit, and they were going to do nothing for him? NOTHING! I really wanted to just cry. His XO came over and apologized for the mistake and promised to get to the bottom of it.

They put together an impromptu "Paddle Passing" in which whomever is holding the paddle got to say some nice things about my husband. That was all fine and dandy, but it wasn't my husband being publicly recognized for his achievements. He really deserves that. I was literally biting my tongue to keep from chewing some people's heads off.

What I would like to know is how it is possible for an office full of people who have months of advance notice of my husband's last day of work and can't seem to get prepared for one little ceremony? I had exactly 20 minutes to prepare the rest of my family, manage to look good myself, AND not get a speeding ticket getting there. I know it's comparing apples to oranges, but it is still really frustrating.

I did want to mention, however, that the girls grabbed hold of the paddle during the "Paddle Passing" so they had to say a few things about their Daddy. The middle child beamed, "I have the best Daddy ever!", and the oldest proclaimed proudly that "My Daddy rocks!" Well, even though my husband's co-workers don't seem to know it, we do. And I guess that that is what is important.