Home

I had been worried the last few weeks that coming home would not be all that I had built it up to be. They had these people come onboard the ship from Fleet Family Services and they warned us that things have changed and it may not be what you expect it to be. I was nervous that home would have changed for me, that it would not feel right or that I would not fit in.

I got home yesterday, and it was and is everything that I had thought it would be. Wisconsin in the fall is a beautiful, peaceful, amazing place. It feels so good to be home. The smells are exactly what I remember. The cold is enough to chill me, but not enough to keep me inside. After being out at sea for six months, I needed a place where I could be myself and relax. It is here on the front porch, looking out at the leaves changing colors, smelling the cool wet night settling over me, that I can do that. I can remember myself and rest. I had thought that I had changed, and in many ways I have, I have learned so much, and I have grown even more, but I am the same person as when I left. I still have my joy, and I still retain the goofiness that so many know me for. It is so good to be home, relaxing, and getting back to being me.