Where Am I From

Facebook keeps asking me to add a hometown to my profile. I haven't, because I honestly don't know what to put there. I spent my first 18 years on a variety of military bases all over the world, never spending more than 4 years in one place. I think my travels looked like this.

I was born in Syracuse NY.

I lived in the following places before I started Kindergarten:

• Germany
• Montana
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire

I was in Spain from Kindergarten through middle of 3rd grade.

I completed 5th grade in Indiana, then moved to Florida.

I spent 6th - 9th grades in Panama City, FL.

I moved to Dugway, Utah for 10th grade

I spent 6 weeks in Woburn, MA while waiting for housing on Kwajalein Island, then finished high school in the South Pacific.

I spent 4 years for college in West Lafayette, IN. - After college, I moved to Atlanta and spent 9 years there; I got married and both my kids were born.

I've spent 15 years (and counting) in Virginia.

Facebook doesn't have a "military brat" option. Maybe they need one.

I had the Facebook hometown thing filled in with Panama City for a while, just to get the nag about completing it to go away. However, I really don't consider Panama City to be where I'm from. I don't think I'd ever move back there, even though I do believe I'll end up back on a beach someday. Just not that beach.

My mother and brothers are still in Atlanta, and given the significant life events that occurred there, it's an important part of my life. Can I be from a place that I moved to at age 21? Likewise, I've lived in the DC area for 15 years, but I moved here when I was over 30. It can't be where I'm from, although it might be home, for now anyway.

So you tell me, where am I from?