I Am From...

I am from Ovaltine and Cream of Wheat, an old oak dining table, and nowhere- but somewhere altogether.

I am from nomadic travels of a military child, now a military wife; transient, yet warm, foreign, yet familiar.

I am from jasmine flowers and the faint smell of dusting powder, cedar wood burning in an old furnace, rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, and the Coal House.

I am from lion dances in February to luminarias in December, xi pao's and ristras, stubborn as a bull, and crying at Hallmark commercials from Jang's, Sanchez's, and Estrada's.

From "eat every grain of rice and you will marry someone handsome," and "there is something positive in EVERYTHING."

I am from the traditional Bible Hymns of Southern Baptists, and incense burning in front of a Buddhist Temple, to Chris Tomlin playing in a church with people wearing jeans.

I'm from Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Yokosuka, Tainan, and Las Vegas; tamales, posole, green or red, Peking Duck, Thousand Year Old Eggs, and Dim Sum.

From the courage of a woman travelling to a new country, escaping ghosts of the past; the strength of a man defending our country and hiding the scars that no one can see; and the good intentions of a woman that hurt more than help.

I am from an island in the Pacific, that my mother calls home, but does not feel as though she belongs anymore; a quiet, isolated place in the middle of Northern New Mexico, where buildings crumble, but memories are still kept alive; a home that I remember as more and more perfect the older I get, no matter how many regrets are left there.