Muster with the Emerald Coast Aggies

Sunday was April 21st, and for Aggies, that means it was Muster. Muster is a ceremony where Aggies come together to remember the Aggies that passed away that year. The names are called, and you say "here" for your fallen comrades, symbolizing that they will never be forgotten. One day our names will be called, and our friends and family will say "here" for us. Pretty cool to think about!

When Muster rolls around, if there is an Aggie within 100 miles of you, you are to get together and celebrate the lives of those no longer with us. Last year we had our friends over and celebrated Muster in our home, but this year we were excited to join the Emerald Coast Aggies for their Muster celebration!

 
We met at Magnolia Grill in Fort Walton Beach. Parker was a little worried it would be too somber, but it wasn't at all. The gathering at Texas A&M is really somber, but the gathering with the Aggie clubs around the world are not that way. I don't love awkward social situations (but honestly, who does?), but lucky for me everyone was so nice and friendly! There were about 50-60 of us spanning across all age groups.

Thankful I got to sit with these two lovely people!

We ran into James, who was Parker's squad leader in his RV platoon at A&M. He also happens to be another Midlothian High School alum, so I got excited when I saw him!

A few of the younger ones there!

 We ate dinner, swapped stories, and listened to an awesome speaker, Dr. Jim Ferguson. He was a yell leader the same year Gov. Rick Perry was! When they got to the part where they read the names, things quieted down. 24 names were read. 20 of those were Aggies who lived in a 100-mile radius of where we met, and the other 4 were those who lost their lives in service for our country. I probably don't need to explain why that part was hard. The last name read was Graham Woody '08. He died last month in an Army training accident. He was a senior in Parker's corps outfit when he was a freshman. I got choked up hearing Parker say "here" for him, and I know Sunday was a really hard night for Graham's buddies.

Once the names were read, we sang the school song. There were a lot of tears in the room and I fought back some myself, but I was so grateful in that moment. Being an Aggie is one of the biggest blessings of my life. It led me to Parker and to so many life-long friendships, and the comradery you feel on days like Sunday is unmatched.

Parker got a video of everyone singing the school song. We sang this hundreds of times during our four years at Texas A&M, but it gives me chills every time I hear it now.

We had such a great experience celebrating Muster with the Emerald Coast Aggies, and I am excited to celebrate with the Kingsville Aggies next year!