"Class of 2010, you may don your rings."

Friday morning, B's mom and sister picked me up at my house and we rode up to New York to see B get his WP class ring! The original plan was to drive to our hotel, check into our rooms, and then drive the 20 minutes or so to WP for the ceremony. But what actually happened is that it look a tad longer than we had anticipated to get into New York, we stealthily ducked into the Holiday Inn Express right outside post (which was not our hotel), proceeded to change and freshen up in the bathroom, and made it to the ceremony just in time!

The ring ceremony on Friday evening is supposed to be outside at Trophy Point, but as we got closer to WP it became woefully obvious that it was about to thunderstorm. As soon as we parked to walk to Ike Hall (where the ceremony was being held due to the weather), the skies opened up and it rained harder than I have ever seen it rain before. It was insane! We trudged through the storm and finally made it (absolutely soaked) into the auditorium, where we waited and waited for the cadets to arrive and be seated and for the ceremony to begin...


The ceremony was pretty brief; the commandant talked about the importance of the ring, and then B's TAC presented the rings (still in boxes) to his company. After all of the cadets had their ring boxes in hand, they were told it was time to open them! It was funny to see them all keep looking at the rings and showing them to one another. After the ceremony, we could finally see B!


And his ring, too! It is actually worn upside down with the class crest closest to his heart until he graduates. After graduation, he will flip it over so the WP crest is facing his heart.


Once we left the ceremony, we started to head over to his barracks so B could change and get ready to go out to dinner. However, one of the traditions at WP is the "ring poop," which is a poem that the plebes (or freshmen) recite to the firsties to ask to see their rings in an attempt to hold them up from leaving post to celebrate.


It is really the first time the plebes are allowed to hassle the upperclassmen, after following orders from them for the past couple of months, so they go all out in chasing down the firsties. It was absolute madness! I caught some random firsties being chased down on video.



It's hard to hear because there are so many of them yelling, but this is the 'poop' the plebes are reciting: "Oh my god, sir/ma'am! What a beautiful ring! What a crass mass of brass and glass! What a bold mold of rolled gold! What a cool jewel you got from your school! See how it sparkles and shines? It must have cost you a fortune! May I touch it, may I touch it please, sir/ma'am?" It was really hilarious how into it some of them got.

When B finally escaped from the plebes, he went up to his room to change, and we went out to dinner with his whole family. At dinner, B presented his mom and dad with the WP pendant and tie tack that he had bought for them, which are close replicas of his class ring. It was so sweet.

The next day was the Ring Weekend banquet and "hop." B's family and I got ready at the hotel, and then we went back to WP so B could get ready. One of the cool things about this weekend is that I was actually allowed in B's room. Usually, there is a line surrounding the barracks that I'm not allowed to cross- I've only seen B's room at school three times since we've been dating!


So, I went up to his room with him to bother him while he got ready and his family explored around WP a bit.


We met up at the library and took some pictures on the roof, where there is a beautiful view of the Hudson.


As a side note...it rained on and off on Saturday and it was hot in the barracks and mess hall (no AC!), so I did my hair the way I had anticipated I would. I wanted to try something different, but oh well...it worked out okay anyway :)


We then went down to the mess hall, where the banquet was being held.


We listened to B's class president speak, did a couple of toasts, drank some wine, enjoyed a delicious dinner of filet mignon and mashed potatoes (and Oreo cheesecake for dessert!), and listened to the guest speaker.


After the banquet, we went down to the "hop"and goofed around for a bit before we were so exhausted from the long day that went back to the hotel and went to bed!


The next day, B's dad and sister left early, so we went into NYC (again!) with his mom. We took her to Canal Street, where we had gone shopping last weekend. She really enjoyed it! Then we had a late lunch in Little Italy before we had to start heading back to WP. We ran random errands, grabbed dinner, and generally avoided dropping B back off at school. Eventually, the inevitable time came, and we had to take him back and say goodbye before beginning the late-night drive home.

It was such a fun weekend to spend with B and his family. Receiving his class ring marks the beginning of his last year at WP. This year is full of a lot of important decisions for B, like what job in the Army he'll do and where he'll live. It was nice for us to have a weekend together and with his family to celebrate his accomplishments and look back on all of his success in the past three years! I think it's safe to say I am just a little bit proud :)