Aloha! Slightly confused still at what that actually means but it sounds good doesn't it? We're back...Thankful to be home, but not so grateful to the nasty cough that seems to have taken up residence with us.
We had a wonderful time in Hawaii.
The island itself was not what I had expected. After all, I've been dreaming about this place for about the last 20 years of my life. I was struck by the very visible poverty suffered by many of the locals on the island of O'ahu. Parks were filled with transients and their shopping carts seeking shelter under the great Banyan trees.
Beaches gave ground for entire villages of homeless tent-dwellers.
We were in the America's 50th State, but away from Waikiki Beach, it seemed like a foreign country. So bizarre. This was a place a very good friend of mine grew up. It was saddening and made me realize how little I know about her and her life on the island.
Poverty aside, it is a beautiful island where the lush hills rise to the sky, ocean waves crash into the shore, tropical flowers bloom and birds really do sing a song.
In a strange way it did remind me of England, somehow, and I was tickled to learn that the Hawaiian flag sports the British Union Jack flag. Of course, unlike England at this time of year, it was hot and sunny with just a few rain showers. We spent time at the pool and the beach, drank Mai Tai's, drove around the island, watched E & L play in the sand as the sun went down, swam with dolphins, visited the zoo, spent time with friends from our years in Japan and just got away from the last few months of chaos that has filled our lives.
Our vacation was filled with moments like these:
Which are to be expected when you go anywhere with the Nuke.
But then there were many more moments like these.
The one's that stop and give you a gentle reminder of why we are parents. Hawaii was great but to be honest, we could have been anywhere. All we needed was a little time to put the last few month back into perspective.
Keeping up with the diet was really hard while we were away. It didn't help that Luke ate about a total of 5 french fries (slight exaggeration, but you get the picture) while on the island. We were cautious but in times when the children did lapse we didn't see any adverse reactions. So the diet is evolving as we experiment a little further to see what they can and can't tolerate and what they may actually be growing out of. For someone, who sees from a black and white point of view only, this is a totally new concept for for me. It is to realize that nothing is static, change is in fact inevitable, and I'm even beginning to entertain the idea of change as being opportunity.
We had Thanks Giving with some good friends of ours we hadn't seen in almost 4 years. My good friend Becky. We met when I was in early stages of pregnancy with Ella and she was just pregnant with her second, John. We gave birth just a week apart and both left Japan within months of each other when Ella and John were two years old. Check thm out now.
I always really liked this lady and she made realize why on this trip. Truly wise beyond her years, she reminded me of something she has held onto all this time. I once said to her, "That I eat a little piece of chocolate every day" which I do, and have believed for a long time in moderation. Everything in moderation. I think it was her way of telling me that I needed to do the same for E & L. I've got away from this principle over the past few months
Really wonderful people that we've vowed to see again, and soon!
I have also come to believe that the more you avoid a food group the more intolerant you become to it. Makes sense, right? So we're changing, again, evolving and I'm really cool with that.
You can see the rest of the photos (all 533 of them) here.
Now busy prepping for the festivities ahead.
