They ♥ Kittery, Maine

As much as I ate to admit it, homesickness did catch up to me recently. I never thought I’d miss my friends so much, and those dirty coffee shops, fresh beef, my long walks through the neighborhood, familiar restaurants, having an excuse to read and care about the journal world, knowing exactly where to go to find a nice, quiet park bench, used book stores, thrift stores, and yes, Friday nights with the family where we’d go out to eat at some cheap restaurant and sometimes sit and watch movies, talk about world events and other lively discussions. I have been longing for some sense of familiarity and being unemployed and watching bills build up in my name around me isn’t helping my sense of belonging here.

The town of Kittery hosted a welcome gathering for the men that serve aboard the recent submarine addition to the nearby shipyard. They were greeted with hugs and a scarf made by a member of the city in which the boat was named after. It wasn’t the most exciting thing on the surface. The music was provided by four people, all talented, who sang, played flute, one who knew the saxophone really well. They cycled through the same five or six songs including “Hit the Road Jack,” which seemed like an odd choice for a welcoming event. As with all small town gatherings that I have ever attended, the big finale of the event was a raffle, but the prizes were very nice.

The most amazing thing about the event was how at first people were very stand offish and hesitant to be very welcoming at first. Most small towns have their people and their routine of things, we all know how it is, and new comers can be frightening. They were happy to share information, but it wasn’t until we were there for a while that people of the town really opened up. They’d just walk up, recognizing the hand made scarf on my fiancé’s neck and just start sharing personal stories about the town, often why they moved here, what they like to do here and often ending with their favorite part about this place. It was so amazing to watch people become very trusting and open up so much with us.

It made me realize that no, I’m not in Kansas anymore, but this place is just fine and maybe at some point will seem wonderful. There are people here, actual ones, with souls and spirit including people whom when given a choice to live anywhere, could afford to live anywhere, choose to live here. My new neighbors helped ground me into a new kind of peace and almost, but not entirely, convinced me that it is possible to live on a diet that does not included beef. I had clam chowder for the first time and it was very unusual. I highly recommend NEVER eating that stuff out of can, but made fresh it’s quite good. It’s going to take me a while to get used to it and I imagine adjusting to eating lobster will be more difficult. I keep seeing them at the grocery store, alive still, and just passing time until someone takes them home and eats them. I just can’t quite picture myself bringing home a live animal and killing it in my own kitchen.