Back on Island

I hear the water lapping against the sand outside. The curtains are moving to the slight breeze in the air as my windows bring in the Okinawan air. Gone is the snot freezing cold, the warm crackling fire, the white brilliance of snow, the colorful twinkling lights and the beautiful Christmas music. I went from the creaking, noisy household full of family members to a silent typhoon proof apartment on the East China Sea. The change sometimes shocks me.
In the adjustment period that follows nearly 10 weeks of life stateside/home the permanence of my life in Japan seems  nonexistent. I hesitated to buy groceries (it seems so permanent), meet neighbors (they'll leave anyway), and think about my job. When you are TDY for 8 weeks you sort of shrug off all the work happenings as something that you don't worry about. Now being back on the island I have to actually consider the goings on in my job.
There are things in life that you don't know you miss until you experience them again. Upon return I realized how much I missed my view of the water, the smell of the sea, the sound of a foreign language, Sir Archibald McVitie (my car) and the challenge of life overseas.
After a week of being back on island, I feel like I have never really left. Sure there are new people in the squadron, unfamiliar faces who I quickly get to know but overall it is all the same. That is the nature of the military, your job does not cease to exist because you are gone. Things do not go down in flames because you are gone. Interestingly, that is one of the difficult things for retirees to adjust to. They expect once they leave for things to go down in flames. They don't, doesn't matter how many stars you have on your shoulders the military will go on.
A trip to the grocery store is a reminder of what small things are missing on the island: fresher produce, cheese varieties, red potatoes, buttermilk, cinnamon chips, nacho cheese soup, and pancetta. It's been sometime since I had yogurt, OJ, spinach, lettuce, and lemonade on the shelves. The ports of Japan are closed during the holiday weeks. Thus, we wait for shipments. As I list these things, I know they are minor. I always bring a list for two different dinner recipes because inevitably, I won't have a few items from one list and the recipe will be shelved until I live stateside again.