Feels Like Home

Reminiscing 

Another episode of One Tree Hill got me thinking again. It was the episode where four years after graduating from high school, everyone was coming home. That comfort of having a place that you spent growing up in and that tug you sometimes feel to go back there, is all too familiar with me. I grew up in one city and only moved away when I turned 18. Even then, I moved three hours north, to a much bigger city, but still in the same state. Washington state is my home, and I have such pride for that corner of the country. I love all Washington sports, I'll brag about the beauty of the Puget Sound or the majesty of the Cascades. I can gush for hours on how relentless rain is worth those gloomy days indoors because Washington is BEAUTIFUL because of it. Cloudy days automatically make me want to grab a book and a  Starbucks and it feels so *good*. I still refuse to use an umbrella because to a Washingtonian...that's a sure sign you're a tourist. I have a checklist of everything I MUST see/do/EAT every time I go home. And Matt is the exact same way, except for him it's Hawaii. We both spent our lives growing up in one place and learning to love what we called home for so long. 

Military Life

Because we didn't bounce around, our roots are firmly planted in either Washington or Hawaii. Jellybean on the other hand will grow up a military brat. He won't have those experiences of growing up in the same place his whole life. So I worry that I'll struggle with finding ways to help him plant those roots, create the familiar, give him a place that he can look back on when he's 30 that stir the same kind of feelings I have when I think of Washington. 

They say home is where the heart is. So I figure, no matter where we move, as long as Matt and I continue to create a supportive, loving, and fun environment for Jellybean, home won't be a specific state like Washington or Hawaii, but rather  just being anywhere at all, as long as we're a family. I figure that if I create traditions that we repeat every year, Jellybean won't hate moving around so much. Home will be wherever he's with mom, dad, and  a cup of hot chocolate, too many marshmallows, and sprinkled with cinnamon.....and that second child we plan on having in a few years.

I think about my friends that grew up as military brats and they all have something in common. They're outgoing. Granted, these are friends that chose to join the military themselves. Their upbringing didn't turn them off to the military lifestyle, and their outgoing personalities are a testament to the benefits of moving around so much and needing to make new friends every few years. They're resilient, they know how to make the most out of any situation, and they're generally the glue that sticks the rest of the group together. In the end, they too have a place they call home and it ends up being where mom and dad choose to retire. For example, my friend Amanda loves Wyoming like I love Washington. She goes home every year and gets as excited about a Wyoming license plate as I do when I see a Washington one.  She didn't grow up there her whole entire life. She traveled around the world with her sisters and parents who were both in the military. The constant during those times- a close knit family. And she's one of the most wonderful people I know. 

Since Matt and I plan on eventually retiring in Washington, perhaps Jellybean won't miss out too much on having a state to call home. Perhaps he'll embrace his military brat lifestyle that will hopefully turn him into an outgoing young man and open up a world of experiences at a young age. The responsibility of making sure his military brat lifestyle is a benefit rather than a detriment falls on me and Matt. And you better believe I'll work my butt off to make sure that kid of mine has the best childhood imaginable!