Seth Retired.

In March, Seth quietly and officially retired from the Army. There was no fanfare. I don't even recall the exact date. 

We had originally, for a lot of logistical reasons, planned a big May retirement ceremony for him. As with all plans, this one was COVID-ed, but the occasion needed to be marked somehow. 

Luckily, we have friends-who-are-family (we are eternally grateful to the Rays and Ryans), 

so we got to take a few low-key minutes to celebrate the guy who worked so hard to go from this

to this

to this

to this

to this

to this. 

Seth's incredible service deserved so much more, but it was nice to be able to give him a zoom audience from all over;

 

a video with thoughts from some (but nowhere close to all!) the many people whose lives he's touched;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq4Kk20cz-k&t=662s

and embarrassing amounts of meat, cupcakes, and pool time.

Plus, he scored some beard grooming accessories (woohoo!)

And, because it was the Ryans', there were fireworks. Naturally.

We did the best we could to make it special, and then rolled the celebration into another week of lake time and kid fishing- Seth's favorites.

And now, because he's retired, I started him on the "honey do" list, which included cleaning out the garage with these useless helpers.

(Why do we own this many fake turkeys??)

There isn't really a way to adequately honor and commemorate Seth's service.
But this comes close.

Seth, we love you, we're so proud of you, and we look forward to the next chapter. Thank you for everything you've given, and the difference you've made.