I have lived most of my life in full-season states. What I mean by that is states that have a change of weather. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. Fall was always my favorite. I loved the bite in the air, crisp but not frigid like Winter. I loved the crunching leaves when I went walking. I have very vivid memories of walking to school with my mom when we lived in Ohio. We would talk about the different colored leaves, about school and what we might do afterward. Once school was over, and we walked all the way home, I was so cold! With a pink nose, wind-reddened cheeks and some stiff fingers, I was looking for some comfort. I know you can relate to this basic desire - to find a warm kitchen with soup or chili on the stove and mug of hot cocoa ready. You put on your fuzzy socks, get a blanket and find a comedy on TV. Meanwhile outside, the wind still blows, the temperature keeps falling and the sun starts to go down early. As you glance once more out the window, a chill tickles the back of your neck, memories of two hours ago when you were still out there. You settle farther down in the sofa, secure that you are safe, snug and warm inside your home.
Well, I have since moved away, and been living in Hawaii for the past 5 1/2 years. Here we have Sunny and Rainy. Sometimes Rainy gets mixed with a little wind, and sometimes it is A LOT of wind; then we just call it a Monsoon. So I have been here on Oahu getting spoiled with warm days, no cold days to bundle up for. I'll admit, I don't miss Winter one bit. I don't miss the icy windshield that needs to be scraped at 5 AM (and you can't find the REAL ice scraper so you have to use the plastic cover to a CD lying at the bottom of your car -- which then snaps apart mid-scrape...). I can do without the harrowing drive into work on sheets of black ice. I especially don't miss feeling that rouge snowflake dive bomb into my shirt - even though I am wearing a turtleneck AND a scarf - Nope, don't miss any of that.
~I will hide behind my beach umbrella and wait while you all throw rotten fruit at me~ :-)
Okay, I know that sounds like I am bragging about living here in the tropics. While it's true I don't miss all that cold mess, all you "Winter/Fall Folk" have something I DO miss - that "AAhhhh - Warm Home" feeling.
The Hawaiian equivalent of that "AAhhhh - Warm Home" feeling is what I will tell you about today.
We went to the beach today with some friends. About 15 minutes from our home is North Shore, Oahu. It actually is world famous in surfing circles; during December and January especially, there are very large waves. A few years ago they grew to be 30 foot waves! Awesome, to watch. ;-) Now, in October, the waves aren't that big. They are bigger than usual, but not monstrous. Still the beach we went to had the red flag warning - the undertow was strong. Joe and Lily were smart about the ocean, as usual. I think they recognize how much power it has and they are in no hurry to drown. They played as the waves came up on shore, but they didn't even try to go out in the water. They were happy just digging holes in the sand, finding shells and letting the waves on shore wash over them. Once, Lily even found a live crab that washed up. It was only walnut-sized, but Lily thought it was dead (there are a lot of dead crab bodies at the beach). She nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized the little guy in her hand was alive! There also were sea turtles swimming about 10 feet from shore. They looked just like Crush, the sea turtle in Finding Nemo.
"Duuude"
This was Leah's first trip to the beach. We used a few beach umbrellas, a floppy hat and LOTS of sunscreen, the 50+ SPF... Oh yeah, she was slathered and well protected from the sun. After hanging out with mom and dad on the sand for little while, it was time to introduce her to the Pacific. We started by dunking her feet. She looked concerned and not too sure about the ocean. She had the furrow between her eyebrows that says, "I don't think I am liking this, I am going to start crying now. Waaaahhh!" After the first shock - that wave (see picture) didn't help - she chilled out a bit and tolerated the sand and water. That was about it for her, she spent the rest of the day napping on Erick's shoulder.
I took advantage of all the kids being occupied and safe, and took the boogie board out in the water. My friend Val and I tried to catch some waves, but of course no luck. :-( Neither of us get to really go out swimming when we go to the beach. A lot of the time we are by ourselves, our husbands in Iraq, and we have to keep eyes on all the kids. So today was fun; her and I had the chance to go try and surf. I paddled out a bit (that is hard work!) and next thing I know I'm 3 feet from a sea turtle! The turtle and I parted ways and once again I tried to catch a wave, but they were not big enough to ride. That is when it started to rain. Not a hard, driving rain, but still. When you are floating in the Pacific with turtles and waves, and the rain starts to come down, you don't just get wet, you become waterlogged. Time for me to go ashore ("Goodbye, sea turtles!"). We packed up our stuff and loaded the car. That isn't easy to do when you are about 100 yards away from the car, with three kids. We had to take lots of trips to the car and all the while we were sandy, wet and worn out. Tired from walking up and down the sand, digging holes and from all the paddling in the waves. Then we have to still go shower and get the sand washed out - while it is still raining.
So here is the Hawaiian "AAhhh - Warm Home" feeling:
We are all in the van, with our damp towels underneath us. The pitter pat of the rain is all around us. Our body heat is starting to blend with the sea water and there is a muggy, stickiness to the air in our van. We are all tired, wet and still somehow finding sand in spite of the showers AND the rain... Fifteen minutes later we are nearing home. We have started to feel a little bit drier after the ride, but then we have to get out of the van and run for the door at home. Wet once again, we burst in the door and make for the showers. Hot showers to wash the salt and sand away. Conditioner for my hair, which is like straw from the seawater and sun. Lip balm to soften my dried out lips. The kids are washed up and in comfy, dry clothes. The baby is in a fresh diaper and a dry onesie. I am in my flannel pajamas pants, my hair is in a simple ponytail and I have no makeup on. Downstairs, Erick has a pot of coffee brewing, and on the stove top there is a pan of cocoa heating up. Outside it is dark and grey. The rain is sheeting down our windows and the clean, washed earth smell wafts in our screen door. We are warm and DRY, sipping our hot drinks. Wonder what funny movie is on right now...
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