I skipped both Bikram and Mass this morning to spend time with my family, although I set the alarm for 6:30 am so I could make an 11th-hour decision.
I got a text from my friend Carol Greff from Ohio when I woke up. First, I called Dorothy, her daughter, my niece, was in the hospital, expecting a baby any minutes. She had watched the funeral live stream while in labor. The baby hadn’t arrived yet.
I decided to walk Elsa. I had to go into the library to get her leash. The closed door suggested that Mowg was still in bed. He was sleeping on an air mattress in a corner. I looked at the bed and couldn’t figure out if he was in it. He is well over 6 feet, but he is skinny. It wasn’t until I got far enough around the corner to see his face that I was sure he was in that bed. I called Carol then. Winds up, she’d been sick herself.
By the time I walked Elsa, it was 7:30. When I got back, breakfast was ready. Damon made some eggs. Over the meal, Damon and Cylin talked about buying Sariah a surfboard and sending her to volleyball camp. Mike and I sent Elijah to the Science Camp last summer and were planning to do it again this year. I am waiting for the director to call me, so I send him the money.
In the middle of breakfast, Dorothy texted me with pictures of Karin with the brand-new baby. Poor Karin was in labor for 36 hours. Dorothy had told her how easy the birth process was. Dorothy had 4 hours of labor with her second child and less with her first. She cheated. She felt terrible that she had set up Karin for disappointment. When I saw the picture, I immediately turned to find Mike to share it with him. It only took a minute. I was able to stop myself and remember he wasn’t there. I had the rest of the family to share it with at least.
August joined me when I went down to pick limes for my daily limeade. I always get those lying under the tree first. They will go bad quickly if I don’t. I’m not the only one who likes to feast on them. I got a huge bucket, too heavy for me to carry up to the house. August carried the full bucket up the hill. B. joined us. He picked some seedless oranges from one of the other trees for us. While I was there, I told B. about Damon and Cylin’s offer to buy Sariah a surfboard and pay for volleyball camp.
Mowg got up and went down to Yvette’s for breakfast. I showered and called Sariah to go for our bookstore run. I take Elijah and Sariah to the used bookstore for Christmas and their birthdays. I still owed Sariah for Christmas. While Elijah comes over regularly, Sariah is needed to help take care of the other three children and doesn’t make it over as often. I love buying this girl books.
I remember when the first time we went. When we got in the car, she told me she had been up all night because she was so excited. She has turned into this great reader. I also gave her an adult coloring book and the extra set of colored pencils that Judy Chaput gave me to while away the hours while I was sitting by Mike’s bedside. It was so thoughtful of Judy to think of what it must have been like for me to sit there every day, day in and day out. As it wound up, I spent my time writing the log and attending to Mike. I didn’t have any time for anything else. At home, I have an adult coloring book and the same set of colored pencils. I tried to do one picture. I don’t seem to have the talent.
The kids said they were leaving at 11:30 for the beach. I told them that Sariah and I would drive down there when we got home from the bookstore. I knew they would never get out as they planned. As Sariah and I got home at 12, there they all were taking off, including poor Josh, who was told he had to go. Josh is very, very fair. The beach is not his thing. When Sariah and I got home, we changed into our bathing suits and headed down to Kua Bay to join the family.
The parking was intense. There isn’t much dedicated parking, only what can accommodate enough cars on a weekday morning when school is in session. Other than that, people park along the side of the road. Yvette’s car was a good quarter of a mile from the beach. I drove all the way up, and, and lo and behold, there was a car pulling out of one of the marked parking spots. We didn’t have much of a walk. I called Damon. He said he would meet us at the top and help me down the rocks to the cove where they were sitting. Getting to this beach requires climbing down a steep hill over rocks. It’s tricky.
The waves were huge. Cylin played lifeguard while Damon, August, and Sariah played in the waves. Yvette and Mowgli went out briefly, too. I don’t dare go out when the waves look like that. I get knocked over in shallow water and then float like a cork. Fortunately, when I do get knocked over, I can count on total strangers to rush to my side to help me.
I talked to Mowg about the family problem. A relative through marriage took the opportunity yesterday to declare.” I don’t want to hear from you again -EVER.” I had made it plain that I wanted nothing to do with his wife. On a previous occasion, she had excluded members of my family. She treats me in ways I have offensive, to put it mildly. Most of the family get along with her. I have no problems with that. I think they see some of the behaviors I see, but it doesn’t affect them the way it affects me. The other possibility is that she really doesn’t treat them the way she treats me. Either way, I have to stay away from her.
I haven’t had contact with her for years. But she had a close relationship with Mike and wanted to come to visit while he was in the ICU. I had a brief phone call with her while he was in the hospital, and I thought that she might have changed. I was looking forward to seeing her. And then she did something that made it clear she hadn’t. I flipped out. Besides treating me badly, she had treated Mike badly. I could have blocked her from seeing him in the ICU. Not only did I not do that, but I also stayed away altogether, so she had some time alone with Mike. I had asked Damon to be sure he was in the room to make sure she didn’t run a mind trip on him and increase his suffering. It was soothing talking to Mowg. He has no investment in how this relationship works out.
Yvette had to leave to get Josh out of the sun. He was sitting in a beach tent, getting a burn. They went off to pick up food from Subway for themselves, Mowg and me. When Mowg and I were ready to go, so were Damon, Cylin, August, and Sariah. While they packed up, I started up the rocky hill leaving everyone else to pack up and carry the beach equipment. I thought, “I can crawl uphill on my own.” Two people came along asked if I wanted help. I grabbed it. The hill is a steep obstacle course, and I don’t have either the strength or the balance to be secure as I navigate it. They escorted me to the cemented flat area where I was good on my own. That’s so Hawaii. When I was somewhat younger, and a bit more secure on my feet, I might need a push up. I would ask a youngster to push me. These kids were great. Without a thought, they would put their hand on my tush and shove. There was no disrespect intended.
Once home, I showered and ate my Italian Subway sandwich. Then I took a nap on the couch on the lanai while Elsa curled up on top of my belly, rising and falling with my breath. I wanted to work on the blog, but I didn’t have the energy. While I slept, Damon, Cylin, August, and Sariah played Sorry. There was lots of laughter. Can’t think of anything I like more in the background as I sleep than laughter. After the game was over, Damon showed Sariah magic tricks, which she picked up quickly and then tried on me when I got up.
Cylin and Sariah took Elsa for her before dinner walk while I stayed home and squeezed limes. B. came up for dinner. Damon was planning to order Thai food. Cylin and Damon put together an order while Sariah wrote it down. When Damon went to call the restaurants, he discovered that they were all closed. I have no idea why. It may have been too late to order already. Kona closes down around 8 pm. Nothing is open late around here, except maybe the dance bars.
Damon and Sariah put together a dinner for 10 people from the leftovers in my frig. It was a mixed bag but lots of fun. Would you believe there was still food left over for me for the following day? Yvette and Josh contributed ice cream for dessert. They brought it up before dinner. Good luck fitting it into Mike’s overstuffed freezer. Poor Elijah couldn’t join us because he was sick as a dog. After dinner, Sariah showed B. the Three Kings card trick with Sorry cards.
B. announced that Sariah had to take her bath before he drove her home. This is the deal he has with her mother. The kids have to be delivered clean and ready for bed. She used my shower.
Everyone went to bed because they needed to get up early. My guests were leaving for the mainland tomorrow. I walked Elsa, played some FreeCell, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. Good night. Elsa. Good night, Mike.
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