Moving?

(sigh) Sighing seems to have become a regular part of my life lately. A sign of my discontent?.. maybe. Or maybe it is just an indication that I have accepted the fact that I am not in control of my life.

We've been in Hawaii a little over two months now, and last week attended a housing demolition meeting. Our little section of Ghetto-dise is slated to be demolished and must be empty no later than October 2010. At this meeting, we were told that there are 78 new homes nearing completion on Ft. Shafter, just up the way a little bit, with the first of the new homes being available for occupancy as early as November (next month). These 78 homes should be occupied by the first few weeks/months of next year. In determining priority, the housing office has decided (wisely) that it is important to keep continuity for kids in the Middle Schools and High Schools, so families with children in Moanalua Middle, and Moanalua High, will have priority for these new homes. We have one in each school. (sigh) There is another meeting on Monday with more details and possibly a more specific timeline. Here's my understanding so far...

We will be moving sometime in the next 3 months.

Cons:

• leave fantastic neighbors
• we live in a great location with proximity to swim team, schools, Target, base shopping, etc. Moving will put us farther away
• car-pooling will be way messed up!
• change wards
• B & little D will have to change schools
• I HAVE TO MOVE AGAIN!

Pros:

• brand new, bigger house with a garage
• if all MS and HS kids are priority, then A & Z will have lots of friends in the neighborhood
• did I mention new, and bigger house?
• the sooner we move, the longer we get to stay in the new house before we have to move again.

Well, there you have it... at least for now. I'll update again after Monday's meeting. (sigh)

Waxing & Waning

No, this isn't about the cycles of the moon, more like my mood. It's been a wild ride the past few months emotionally, physically, mentally, etc. And you can blame (or thank) blogger for the lack of descriptive details of the whole crazy ride. I really can't stand the interface, especially adding pictures. I sure miss the old website. (sigh) It's still there, just in need of serious life support in order to continuing posting to it. Obviously a project for another day, frame of mind.

So, now for those casual readers that's the end of the post, but if you really want to glimpse the warped inner workings of my mind then, by all means, read on.

I would first like to acknowledge that I am aware that I live in paradise. Yes, the weather is perfect every day. Yes, the skies are blue and clear. Yes, the ocean is more beautiful than the pictures I post, the water temperature is ideal, and snorkeling, boogie boarding & surfing are really that fun. Yes, I could do any or all of these things every day if I wanted to. Yes, there are gorgeous waterfalls, prehistoric looking mountains, and fantastic flowers everywhere you look. yes, LOST is filmed here (no, I haven't seen anyone yet). And Yes! I am very grateful to be living here.

However...

Just like many who haven't been to India thought I was super-spoiled by having a cook, housekeeper, gardener, sweeper, tailor and driver; so also is there the perception that I live on the beach, sipping fruity umbrella drinks, served by 'Sawyer' in a 'bond' bathing suit. Let me assure you all... that is not the case. Don't get me wrong, we are all bound and determined to enjoy our 'beach living' as much as possible; but, life is life, and requires that we actually DO stuff to survive (laundry, cooking, shopping, chauffeuring, school, etc). And, at the risk of having one of the few readers still here conclude that I 'need help,' I will delve a little deeper.

Adjusting back to 'normal' life has proven more challenging that I anticipated - and not because I'm cooking and cleaning for myself again. It's remotely possible that these challenges could be linked to the 10 lbs I've gained from having Maui Caramacs (chocolate & caramel macademia nuts) for breakfast everyday, but I'm thinking not. We all go though life trying to deal with the 'issues' of our past, our personality quirks, character flaws and haughty hubris. We contend with these things usually as a part of life, little by little, overcoming and improving. Sometimes we choose not deal, instead we avoid. We mask these issues with coping mechanisms we develop over time. For some it's retail therapy (gosh, India was SO great for that). For others, entertainment, food, facebook. (hee hee) Some may even escape into a good book (if Jean Valjean can do it... so can I!). However, from my observation, this is like putting a band-aid on a person suffering from skin cancer. Band-aids do little but mask the wound, hide it from sight. In many cases, painful surgery is needed to remove the disease, and then chemotherapy and radiation.

This move, for me, has been one of those moments in life where I can choose to put another band-aid on, or elect to have surgery. After 3 years of 'oh my gosh, I'm going to live in India', 'oh my gosh, I live in India', 'oh my gosh, I lived in India'... now it's over and we're back to 'who the blazes am I?' and 'now that all my kids are in school, what the heck am I going to do with myself?', 'what is my purpose?' This, and more (stay tuned for an update on housing and schooling), has been running around what is left of my brain causing all kinds of unpleasantries. However, I have elected for surgery. (big sigh) And while the process is proving quite painful, I am hopeful it will prove most beneficial in the long run. 'Slow & steady wins the race...'

Enough blogging... now I'm back to lazing about the beach in my modest bikini, sipping virgin Daiquiris, reading trashy novels.

Upcoming blogs... Our upcoming move & Furlough Fridays

Under the Sea...

Diamondhead

While Joan was here, we decided to try something new. Dave, Joan & I booked passage on a submarine for some fish-seeing adventure. It was a 15 minute boat ride out to the sub with gorgeous views of Waikiki and Diamondhead, followed by a 45-60 minute underwater tour of sunken planes and ships and artificial reefs all placed for the purpose of the tour. It did not disappoint. We saw many, many fish, and even a reef shark and 4 hono (sea turtles).

The Atlantis XII (our submarine) surfacing to pick us up

Sunken plane

Reef shark resting under the wing

Joan & Dave in the sub

Large fish

My favorite - the hono

D's Baptism

A family picture on the way to little D's baptism.

Eight is a special birthday where we are eligible for baptism into our church. All of our children have chosen to be baptized when they turned eight, and all occasions were special days. D's special day was no different, except that we live in paradise and got to spend the morning at the beach. Here are a few pictures from the baptism.

Just before the baptism

Hawaiian tradition is to give a lei on special occasions. D especially appreciated

that many of these leis were made of candy. SWEET!

Grammy Joan flew out to celebrate this special day with D.

A rare moment of bonding

Used, abused, beat up, stung.... and going back for more!

Don't ever get tired of this... (insert sigh of content)

Saturday morning we took Grammy Joan to Bellows AFS for a rockin' day of Boogie Boarding. We were seriously beat up by the ocean, but despite our nasal/brain salt water enemas, our pulled muscles, and repeated attempts by the ocean to toss us out, we had an amazing morning. Because the waves were so huge and strong, when we did actually manage to 'catch' one, the ride was awesome! Grammy Joan put up a good fight and enjoyed her first attempt at boogie boarding. She and I were the only that emerged from the ocean unscathed by jellyfish. Supposedly, it hurts like the dickens, but the pain subsides after 20 minutes or so. I'll let you know when my turn comes.

D's poor little leg after the jellyfish stings. Both legs were stung, but he's a real trooper.

A got stung on the hand, but eventually got back in the water

Dave & Grammy Joan preparing their attack strategy

D's 8th Big Day

Happy 8th Birthday Little D!

When did THIS happen? When did my baby grow up to be 8 years old? Anyway, the big day is Thursday, the 24th of September. D has been a real joy in our family, with a fantastic smile, ridiculously long eyelashes, and a witty sense of humor beyond his years. His happy demeanor is evidence to me that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. We celebrated with Grammy Joan who flew out here to be with us, and even ate dinner at the historically significant (at least in my family) Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor for dinner and more importantly dessert.

The happy boy reading a birthday card

Dessert at Farrell's

Wings Over the Pacific

"Z"-22

Prime seats