There's an expression that I hear often, that I've come to love. Lucky we live Hawaii. Now, I've heard this expression mostly from weathermen, who are explaining our weather situation compared some poor city in the mainland getting pelted by snow or tornadoes. But I love this expression just the same. It encompasses everything that I feel.
I live in Hawaii, more specifically, Kauai, for Javy. It's a place that I could never even dream of and it's the perfect place to raise Javy. Some of you guys may have come to wonder why on earth we came to move here. So I'm going to tell you.....
The first time we came here was in 2004. My mom just had a cancerous lump removed from her breast and was about to start radiation treatments. My sister could not come to Alabama to be with her so she sent us three tickets to paradise, for me, mom and Javy. Hawaii, prior to that had never been a place I had thought about visiting, I was more of a cold weather, mountain girl. But, hey, someone sends you free tickets, what could I do but go....
In fact, I almost didn't. The night before we were to leave, I was throwing my guts up. I was packing a little and then paying homage to the porcelain god, all through the night. I thought there's no way I"m gonna get on a plane for 12 hours. But when I woke up the next morning, I found that I was fine. I decided to risk it. So off to Kauai, we went......
And the rest is history.......
Nah, I won't end the story just, yet. For you guys who live on the Mainland, I know, I like to torture y'all with beautiful pictures of us swimming in the ocean in the middle of December. But that's not why I live here. I live here for my son. And maybe a little for my mother, lol. But my epiphany moment, when I realized this is the absolute best place to raise my child, when it became more than just a cute fantasy, came in December 2007. We were visiting Joy (my sister). She was living in an apartment in Waimea. It was a Saturday, and I took Javy for a walk around Waimea. Saturdays, to me, have a magical feel anyways, but this Saturday was one of the crystal clear blue sky Saturdays. So I'm be-bopping down the road, the middle of the road, because you can on the side streets in Waimea, when a group of boys came riding up on their bikes. Javy, in his wheelchair, flashes them a smile. I, shudder, fearing how the tough-looking local boys will react. I don't like it when kids are mean to other kids and I didn't want to run my mouth. But these boys, flash a big smile at Javy and wave and say, "Hi!" At that moment, a flush of warmth came over me and I got "chicken skin", in other words that was an awesome moment.
At this point, in the story, you might bet thinking, "What?" But it's that warmth that drew me here. In Alabama, it wasn't always like that. We'd go out shopping, walking around the neighborhood, whatever.... Most of the time we'd just get stares, from kids, parents, grandmas, whoever. That's not to say that everyone was like that, but I'd say pretty much the majority were. So if you know Javy and you know how happy and smiley he is with everyone, then you might understand how that could break my heart.
I, also, for the first time in my life, felt at home.
So why is it so special here......
It's called aloha..... Yes, it really does exist.
It's when random strangers help you carry your beach towels and bags when they see that your struggling to push a wheelchair across the sand.
It's when young men offer to lift your son's wheelchair in the back of the car.
It's when a kapuna at the Farmer's Market gives you free papayas to make the little one strong.
It's when people put there hands on Javy and bless him, at the mall.
It's when special songs are played for Javy on the ukulele.
It's when your friend's son runs all the way down the road to bring you Valentine's Day cookies.
It's when a stranger gives you a jar of coins because they heard through a friend of a friends that we're saving money for Javy's beach wheelchair/gait trainer.
It's when a big tough looking Hawaiian guy stops you on the street and tells you that he (Javy) is a blessing to this town and then gives you $10.00 to buy him some lunch.
It's when a group of women, most of whom haven't even met Javy, give $500 for his wheelchair/gait trainer fund.
These are just some of the things that have happened to us since we've been here and they're all pretty random.
I haven't even come close to paying homage to all the very special friends that I have made here. The one's who make our lives complete. It's to you that I dedicate this Valentine's Day to. Just because I don't have that "one" special someone, it doesn't matter because my heart and Javy's heart are overflowing with your goodness.
Lucky we live Kauai, home sweet home!
I live in Hawaii, more specifically, Kauai, for Javy. It's a place that I could never even dream of and it's the perfect place to raise Javy. Some of you guys may have come to wonder why on earth we came to move here. So I'm going to tell you.....
The first time we came here was in 2004. My mom just had a cancerous lump removed from her breast and was about to start radiation treatments. My sister could not come to Alabama to be with her so she sent us three tickets to paradise, for me, mom and Javy. Hawaii, prior to that had never been a place I had thought about visiting, I was more of a cold weather, mountain girl. But, hey, someone sends you free tickets, what could I do but go....
In fact, I almost didn't. The night before we were to leave, I was throwing my guts up. I was packing a little and then paying homage to the porcelain god, all through the night. I thought there's no way I"m gonna get on a plane for 12 hours. But when I woke up the next morning, I found that I was fine. I decided to risk it. So off to Kauai, we went......
And the rest is history.......
Nah, I won't end the story just, yet. For you guys who live on the Mainland, I know, I like to torture y'all with beautiful pictures of us swimming in the ocean in the middle of December. But that's not why I live here. I live here for my son. And maybe a little for my mother, lol. But my epiphany moment, when I realized this is the absolute best place to raise my child, when it became more than just a cute fantasy, came in December 2007. We were visiting Joy (my sister). She was living in an apartment in Waimea. It was a Saturday, and I took Javy for a walk around Waimea. Saturdays, to me, have a magical feel anyways, but this Saturday was one of the crystal clear blue sky Saturdays. So I'm be-bopping down the road, the middle of the road, because you can on the side streets in Waimea, when a group of boys came riding up on their bikes. Javy, in his wheelchair, flashes them a smile. I, shudder, fearing how the tough-looking local boys will react. I don't like it when kids are mean to other kids and I didn't want to run my mouth. But these boys, flash a big smile at Javy and wave and say, "Hi!" At that moment, a flush of warmth came over me and I got "chicken skin", in other words that was an awesome moment.
At this point, in the story, you might bet thinking, "What?" But it's that warmth that drew me here. In Alabama, it wasn't always like that. We'd go out shopping, walking around the neighborhood, whatever.... Most of the time we'd just get stares, from kids, parents, grandmas, whoever. That's not to say that everyone was like that, but I'd say pretty much the majority were. So if you know Javy and you know how happy and smiley he is with everyone, then you might understand how that could break my heart.
I, also, for the first time in my life, felt at home.
So why is it so special here......
It's called aloha..... Yes, it really does exist.
It's when random strangers help you carry your beach towels and bags when they see that your struggling to push a wheelchair across the sand.
It's when young men offer to lift your son's wheelchair in the back of the car.
It's when a kapuna at the Farmer's Market gives you free papayas to make the little one strong.
It's when people put there hands on Javy and bless him, at the mall.
It's when special songs are played for Javy on the ukulele.
It's when your friend's son runs all the way down the road to bring you Valentine's Day cookies.
It's when a stranger gives you a jar of coins because they heard through a friend of a friends that we're saving money for Javy's beach wheelchair/gait trainer.
It's when a big tough looking Hawaiian guy stops you on the street and tells you that he (Javy) is a blessing to this town and then gives you $10.00 to buy him some lunch.
It's when a group of women, most of whom haven't even met Javy, give $500 for his wheelchair/gait trainer fund.
These are just some of the things that have happened to us since we've been here and they're all pretty random.
I haven't even come close to paying homage to all the very special friends that I have made here. The one's who make our lives complete. It's to you that I dedicate this Valentine's Day to. Just because I don't have that "one" special someone, it doesn't matter because my heart and Javy's heart are overflowing with your goodness.
Lucky we live Kauai, home sweet home!
