I’ve been in Hawaii for a bit now. Three different islands, O’ahu, Maui and the Big Island, visiting family and friends.

Each community is different.

O’ahu

I raised my children in the surf community of the North Shore. There’s a part of my heart that rests there. Family. Both by blood and by choice. I share histories with many of these people and I feel the warmth of those memories when I see them. I was privileged enough to have been there during an amazing time and that experience has colored everything afterwards.

Maui

I needn’t go into all the mental and emotional gymnastics I go through when sorting out the experience of being back on this land again. So I won’t. This time, though, I had the freedom to sit and leisurely talk with friends and saviors. Ultimately it uncorked emotions that I didn’t realize were still bottled up. I felt lighter somehow as a result.

The Big

Back in the lovely folds of the big island of Hawai’i where we are rebuilding our lives. Luckily I have a friend here from long ago and I’m making new ones. Madam Pele is active right now at Kilauea. It seems fitting that as the volcano is creating new land, we are here creating new lives.