What Do I Know?

So. We're home from our vacation to Maine. Did some touristy things like the beach, Boothbay Harbor, and Sebago for the day. Had a great time. Got to have dinner with my parents - mom made her famous potato salad and cheesy carrots - YUM! Had dinner with the Wheelers - always a good time there and Ed got LOBSTER! And got to see my brother in law's new house - very cute with a fantastic yard! While we were in Boothbay I started thinking about how even though I lived close to the ocean for most of my life there's plenty I don't know about it. You know, not like the folks who are Boothbay natives - the ones who make their living off the sea either through tourist ventures or fishing. They know and understand the sea in a way that I never will. The cry of the seagulls fills the sky all around them all the time. The smell of salt air is waiting for them each time they step out their front door. Fog horns and boat horns, sailboats and fishing boats, lobster and clams and other sea foods, old homes weathered by the salt spray and lobster trap coffee tables - these things fill their lives. I was a bit jealous. Then I started thinking about what I know. I grew up mostly in Maine but I lived lots of other places too. I'm not a native to anywhere. So what do I know in that expert sort of way that native folks know stuff? I guess I know about being a military kid. I hate the term military brat. I was no brat although I knew plenty of them. I know about moving and leaving friends and making new ones. I know about settling into a new home, school, community. I know about the sacrifices that military families make. And about the perks that come with having a navy dad - like meeting the Blue Angels, and getting real McDonald's burgers in the Azores brought in special for us from the Brunswick Naval Air Station. I know that family isn't just the people you're related to, they're the people you can relate to - like when you're stationed miles from your relatives on Thanksgiving and so is everyone else you know and it turns out to be one of your favorite holiday memories. These days I'm a civilian but the military influence in my life is still part of who I am. And seeing the P3's flying over head in Maine this week made me feel right at home...