What to wear, what to wear?

I had planned to wear my DCU's, the desert uniform home on the plane. I got an upgrade to first class with them on my way from Dallas to El Paso the other day. A major and I had been together since Kuwait and were ending our trip together. We were the last ones on the plane in Dallas, just because we were not in a rush. As we approached the counter, the attendant pulled us aside and asked for our tickets. Later, the major admitted that he thought there was a problem and we may not have seats. I knew that she was upgrading us, because the plane was about 1/3 full.
She handed us our tickets with a "Welcome home" as we went to the gate.
The major was ecstatic!
When we got on the plane the first attendant asked, "Did you get good seats?"
"Yes," I replied. "Thank you."
"Welcome home."
That was very special. We were seated on the front row and were the first served. We did not ask for anything special, but it was nice to be served without having to wait and having her hover around asking if we needed anything.
I planned to wear my DCU's on the home flight, maybe scoring another first class seat. Then I decided not to. I am going from the airport out to dinner with my wife and thought I would dress more appropriately.
I did laundry this evening and I packed my DCU's in the duffle bag for the flight home. I realized that there will not be another time or reason to wear them again. That thought caught me by surprise. I have worn them every day for the last 7 months and then, it's over. If I deploy again, I will be issued the new style of uniform. When I return to Ft. Drum in two weeks, I will switch back to the basic BDU's that I have worn for the last 18 years. The DCU wear was a one-time uniform for a one-time mission...never replicated, never undone.
It has been a good ride, one of the highlights of my life, but when I packed the uniforms away, something ended.
I am going home....