Last night and today I will be spending time with a family that I don't know, but am now a part of.

I know that sounds weird, but let me explain. Typically, a family is a group of people you are related to either by blood or legally. We may also describe a group of people, with whom we have a strong connection, as a family, such as a work family or a group of close friends that you do things with. The key thing is that the connection of shared activities and experiences makes you part of this family.

However, last night and today I will be around a couple hundred people that is part of a large family. We don't know each other. We don't have shared activities. And, last night and today will be the only time that vast majority of us will ever be around each other. So, what kind of strange family am I referring to?

I am talking about the USS Virginia family. We are a family because we all have a family member that is on the crew of the USS Virginia submarine. Today they returned from a six-month deployment, and we are all glad they made it home for Christmas. As we waited for their boat to arrive we were all talking about our sailors and how hard it is when they are gone and go "dark" for months at a time. Because of the nature of a submarine's mission, the family members on land know nothing: where they are going, what they are doing, how long they will be gone, and how long they go "dark" (meaning no contact what so ever). We relate to each other mostly based on missing a loved one and the eagerness to see them again and give them a giant hug. We are all in the same boat, literally! We connect in a unique way.

It is funny how we take different situational groups and call them family... maybe it is because we are connecting on a deeper level that reminds us of the connections we have with actual families. We have a need to connect, and today I connected with my new USS Virginia family.