'scuse me ma'm

Since when did I become "m'am"?
I always thought that "m'am" was reserved for grandmothers and women who are trying to be calmed down by some customer service employee. You know, "Now m'am, I'm sure we can find a solution to this." But since I've moved down to the south-eastern part of the country, it seems I've entered the Land of M'am. Out of all the places I've lived in the U.S., people have generally avoided calling anyone "m'am". But all of a sudden....it's everywhere. And it's ME. I am now the grandma or the red-faced screaming customer. Not good. Not good at all.

And so it begins

Sometimes I wonder how I got to Seattle. How it is that my grandma was right - "Never say never." Never. Remember when I was small, I promised myself that I would NEVER be with anyone involved in the military. After all, as far as I could tell, the military was the cause of my father's family's "issues." The reason for the cold chill between my family and my grandparents. Never. Little did I know.