Mainland

We are back from an incredible week in Kauai with my family. It was relaxing, adventurous, and rejuvenating.

Some highlights: a beautiful hike Adam and I took the baby on; hanging out and laughing with the family; long sun drenched days at the beach; sleeping in (thanks Mom and Dad for watching the crazy baby!); a exhilarating helicopter ride; and generally just relaxing and enjoying the sun.

We hired a babysitter one night and went out to a great dinner with all the adults. The sitter was hired through an agency on the island, so we didn’t know who they would send. When she arrived she was wearing a long flowing skirt and a bikini with a loose tank top over it. Her hair was in wild beach tumbled waves. She was carrying an eastern meditation book and had large tufts of armpit hair sticking out from under her tank top. (!!!!!.)

Despite the hairy pits she was great with the baby. Eva quickly stole her car keys and slobbered all over them while the nanny told Adam and I about her life. She worked and lived on an organic farm on the island. She grew up in the Midwest then moved to Kauai a decade or so back. She told us that “the island life takes you over.” It had definitely taken her.

Part of me leaves a place like Kauai wishing that I could let it take me over... that I could give up the daily grind of life on the mainland to live in a permanent daze of Mai Tais and Ahi Poke. It seems romantic, idyllic, and divine. But then we come home and I find myself so glad to be home. Its comforting, its familiar, its...deep restful exhale... home. Home sweet home.

Normal life may not be as glamorous or breezy as vacation life, but normal life is more me. With all the crazy responsibilities I tack onto my life comes also a sense of calm and peace. It may be chaotic and at times exhausting, but my mainland life, right now seems right where I should be.