An Arlington Cemetery Experience

At the end of September Xander had an amazing opportunity with the Boys2Men mentoring group he belongs to - they were able to place a wreath at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. Unfortunately our start to this wonderful experience was shaky and we weren't sure if we were going to make it there on time.  One of the moms was late so we left the school much later than we needed to and then, about 5 minutes after we got on the freeway, a buzzer went off in the bus indicating that it was low on some fluid.  We got off and ended up waiting almost 40 minutes for a mechanic to come and set things right.  Needless to say, the adult leaders and the principal, who had come along as well, were NOT happy and weren't handling the stress in a good way.  We were finally on our way and ,thank goodness, we were still able to make it there on time.

Well, we got there before the ceremony but it was close. We entered the cemetery at a brisk pace...

and then needed to break into a full on run!

Xander was put in charge of getting the wreath there as quick as he could.

The people in charge were extremely gracious and got the boys ready. Xander, as President of the club, was one of the lucky ones who got to participate fully in the wreath-laying ceremony.

Our beautiful wreath.

This moment brought on the tears.

I absolutely LOVE this picture of Xander's interaction with the guard!

I'm so grateful that Xander was able to have this awesome experience and that I was able to be there with him.

Pastor Reeves congratulating the boys on how they conducted themselves during the ceremony and what a wonderful privilege they had just been given.

We decided to make a few stops throughout the cemetery..

and on the way out we were able to grab a picture in front of the sign. We had been in too much of a hurry on the way in, ha ha!

In the Visitors Center this painting really touched my heart.

This was definitely a day I will always remember!