These past 2 weeks, my sister and her family have been visiting. We eagerly anticipated their arrival since it'll be fun for our kids to have people their own age to play with. All the kids are exactly 1 year apart from the next one, so with five kids under 6 in the house, it made for some fun (and very loud) times. Generally, we took them to all of our favourite places:
- Pa'ia for surfer watching, lunch and gelato
- Launiopoko Park for surfing and kid play in the lagoon.
- Our favourite beaches - Keawakapu, Wailea & of course, our own Charley Young
- Lava fields south of Makena
- Costco and WalMart
- Entertainment at the Shops at Wailea
So all in all, we had a great time. They all learned to boogie board and body surf (including the kids) and us parents had a relaxing time sitting back watching the kids body surf in the waves. The weather was pretty good for the 2 weeks. We had a few days of rain and a few days of high surf - but overall, sunny and warm. And now, after many long hours back to Toronto, they are back home and we are here at home in our little house.
Speaking of home, that is where we are headed in 3.5 weeks. Yes, we return "home" on February 26. Are we ready? The simple answer is - no. To tell you the truth, Kihei and Maui has become home for us. I know it's hard to feel sorry for us, but going back to Vancouver is going to be a big culture shock. Our lives here have been all about family, friends and living outdoors - being in the sun, the sand and the ocean. Watching the waves and the whales. Watching each other grow and learn new things. Wearing shoes that have no sides or tops. Living in our swim suits. Omnipresent sand in our hair and in our house. Letting people in front of us in line at the grocery store when they only have 2 items and we have a full cart. Other drivers waving us through if we're waiting to turn. Smiles from strangers and abounding aloha spirit.
This trip has really meant finding a new home, one that is temporary but still home because of how we feel and experience it. We're truly sad at the thought of returning and missing the many things that have made this a new home. However, we have promised ourselves that we won't stray too far from what this home has taught us - that our work needs to be flexible, that a sunset bbq dinner on the beach should happen weekly, and that Friday mornings should be spent at the playground and Sunday afternoons should be spent hiking through natural places. That we really don't need as much money as we thought we did. That stuff is really quite unimportant. That children should play with other children and not their parents. That all four of us are capable of things I never thought possible.
All of these things, we've promised to remember and take from this home to our Vancouver home. In three and a half weeks. And until then, we'll continue to take in the wonder and experience that is this "home".
