back home

I am home and I haven't been this happy and at peace since, well, I was home last time!

We are staying at a beautiful beach house on the Kohala coast, where we have a phenomenal view of the Kohala Mountain and Maui island. Turtles swim in the ocean below the balcony, and you can see flashes of turquoise and yellow from the tropical fish feeding on the coral below.

Last night, Auntie Deena brought all the HPA (my high school), girls down to Mauumae to have a gathering and hula practice before they graduate this Saturday. There was a sharing of Hawaiian food, kalua pig, limu kohu, poi, sweet potato, dried shrimp, each with a special significance to help these girls draw strength from each other and themselves for the transition they are facing. I was invited to join, and it brought me back to being an 18 year old.

My high school is very small (graduating classes are around 70), and most of these girls have been in the same school with each other since kindergarten, so it is always a very raw and emotional experience to say goodbye to each other in this way. Here is a picture of our graduation ceremony, which is the most beautiful high school graduation ceremony in the world.

It was just so magical, sitting on the beach in a circle, with the entire milk way smeared above us, a red crescent moon, shooting stars, torches flickering on the perimeter, and all the love and aloha that this woman Auntie Deena brings. Honestly, she is one of the most phenomenal people I have ever met. She can meet you and in two seconds make you feel like you are the most special amazing person on the face of this planet and you have just blessed her life, when in fact, it is the other way around!

I went to bed at midnight, and got up at 5:30am to run along the coast. The sun rose over the kohala mountain, and I jogged past the sacred heiau (Hawaiian temple), along the beach, and along pathways through the lava rock. It was a refreshing and cleansing run.

As soon as I returned, my husband and I jumped on our stand up paddle boards and explored the coastline. It is only 10am and my day has been perfect.

I will post pics as soon as I can get them onto my computer! You have to see it to believe how turquoise the water is.