Watching the fire throwers and hula dancers our first night in Maui

Feeding the Coy Fish

You'd never believe Kajal hadn't seen a swimming pool a year ago, never mind had never had a swim lesson prior to this past summer. The resort had no less than five or six pools, the most breathtaking beach in the world, a real pirate ship for the kids to play on with a water slide and a huge water slide that landed at the base of a beautiful waterfall! We were truly in paradise... and Kajal could swim! She was a little fish, was always the first in the pool in the morning and the last to leave when the sun was setting...

The sunsets in Maui were breathtaking. We needed this trip so bad... we really haven't had enough time together just the two of us. There's always school, work, laundry, the pets, the chores... something. We sneak in a few happy hours here and there but it's never enough. One of Kajal's wishes before we headed to the island was to see a rainbow. She'd seen one in the Park near our hours, beautifully glowing over a a church steeple... it was beautiful, but we hadn't seen one since. She loved the water slide at the resort and convinced me to make the treck up the stairs time and time again to slide down laughing and splashing. It was so simple, but standing at the bottom of the slide with my arms out waiting for her and watching her slide off screaming 'MOMMY!' at the top of her lungs, catching her... was so incredible. I hope she was beginning to learn that I'd be there for her, in life... to catch her when she fell... and sure enough, one day... standing at the top of the slide she screamed, Mommy.... a RAINBOW! And there was the most beautiful rainbow off in the distance suspended over the view of the mountains and volcano. The sunsets were also, absolutely breathtaking.

One of the hardest things to do in any relationship is to let go of all expectations... so much harder to do than I ever imagined. I had day dreamed about this trip for so long. Snorkeling is my favorite thing in the world to do and I couldn't wait to teach Kajal. I imagined us swimming along side by side, or my pulling her on one of those cool bubble rafters where she can lie down and float while gazing at the sea life below. I'd point out all the beautiful fish and tell her stories of the ocean. It didn't happen quite like I expected.... actually, not at all. Kajal wasn't too thrilled with the beach, all that sticky, itchy sand between her toes. She loved building sand castles though but was terrified of the ocean... the idea of fish swimming around was horrific to her and when I tried to bring her out with me, even a few steps she screamed in terror as she saw the shadows flickering under the water.  I struggled with the disappointment, knowing she is so young and everything is so new to her, what was I thinking. I also imagined the vacation a little differently than was the reality. i'd packed all these books I couldn't wait to read (what was I thinking?) and imagine resting peacefully by the ocean or pool, kicking back, relaxing. Not. Kajal was bored in ten minutes and was constantly on the go... 10 minutes in Pirate ship pool, then an hour in the ocean side kiddy pool, 30 minute in one big pool then 20 in another then MOM! let's go to the slide! From 7 AM until 8 PM it was go go go and I  thought I'd drop of exhaustion. The fish were calling to me and I'd heard about the magnificent endangered green sea turtles swimming right off the beach... just a few feet from me and i was dying to see them. I finally gave in and set Kajal up for a morning at the  Kids club. The Westing Maui was magnificent and their kids club incredible. I interviewed the locals who had been working there for years and their kindness radiated from them. I think that's what I loved about the island the most, the people. Their culture is so rich and creative, the people so kind and compassionate. i dropped her off and headed to the spa for a luxury massage. Then I grabbed a snorkle and fins and swam for hours in the ocean. It was heaven... but after a few hours I was watching the clock and missing my baby. She had an amazing time in the club and even though I'd yet to see a turtle I ran for my baby instead. She held out some Hawaiin artwork and asked about learning the Hula . It was good for both of us and I made arrangements for her to do it again a few days later.

The next time I went snorkeling with Kajal safely tucked away I was determined to find a sea turtle... I swam and I swam, looked in every cave and under every large coral formation but  alas, no turtles. I saw the most breathtaking sea life, fish of the brightest colors and most graceful shapes. The color was vibrant and endless and the clarity in the water, like deep aqua glass. I finally gave up, realizing that a turtle sighting wasn't for me and swam exhausted to the shore. I threw my fins and mask down on the sand and floated in the shallows, basking in the sun. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something floating, right next to me. I turned to see what it was and a head popped out of the water to breath deeply of the warm salty air. A turtle! A huge turtle! Sitting right next to me, gazing at me like, hey, want to play? I freaked, I started yelling, turtle! turtle! And a woman on shore was kind enough to throw me my mask and fins and i struggled next to the floating wonder to pull them on... just in time to dive under the water and swim with the beautiful animal. She had to be over 4-5 feet long and she grazed along the coral, swimming and eating... I swam with her for a good 30 minutes until satisfied that I'd truly experience Maui I waved goodbye, thanked her in my heart and swam back to shore. Kajal was so excited to hear my story that she told everyone we ran into that her Mommy saw a turtle!

She may not enjoy the Ocean yet but I decided she should have her own turtle for a little while



I decided we needed to see a litte bit more of the ocean life and the island of Maui than the resort and surrounding area... I researched and I researched but most of the boat trips and waterfall trips were to long for Kajal. They all involved snorkeling off the boat, not for her, or long winding mountain roads up the sides of volcano's and as much as I would have loved to see the island waterfalls I knew it would be too much for her. Finally I found an excursion offered by the Pacific Whale Foundation, an organization that has saved so much marine life over the years and gears itself towards educating children. I booked us for a half day dolphin encounter and we boarded the boat headed for a nearly deserted island, Lanaii. The waters around the island attracts pods of dolphins and seemed excited, but tame enough for Kajal. Well, 10 minutes out and Kajal got horribly sea sick. I'd tried to give her a motion sickness pill before we left land but she'd refused to swallow it and now it was too late. There was no turning back and we had three hours ahead of us. She curled up at the back of the boat and cried... Oh, I felt terrible and there was so little I could do to help her feel better. She finally fell asleep thank goodness, easing the pain a bit.

At one point, Kajal awoke and green she looked at me desperately. At this point, hundreds of bottle nose and spinner dolphins were everywhere we looked, dancing and spinning, flying together. Mothers and calves, small and massive... the flew and flipped and danced in the waves. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen (other than my babies smile that is) kajal had no interest... following the direction of the crew I held her tightly over the edge of the boat so she could throw up over the edge. The waves were choppy bouncing the boat around and I terrified, held on to her with all my might as she was ill. Suddenly, out of the ocean flew a huge 7 or 8 foot dolphin. She flew out of the ocean right under us and did a flying leap over our heads... her eye gazing down at us I swear, with compassion. It was the closest any dolphin had come to our boat that day. We had also been told by the foundation that they'd never seen bottlenose and spinner dolpins sharing the same water, never mind playing together. Usually the pods stay far from each other. The day was full of miracles and joy and although kajal didn't appreciate it at the moment... I explained to her about how dolphins were known to have healing powers and that in this case I believed a dolphin had come close to us, literally flying over us for one reason only... to check on and offer her help to her.

After she found her sea legs again, Kajal could stop talking about  her dolphin friend.

One of the other incredible high lights of the trip was that Kajal learned to Hula. I found her an authentic hula outfit and we went to a Lua Au (sp?). Kajal was amazing, she went right up on stage and threw her arms up in the air and hula'd like she'd been born in hawaii. Who would ever believe this breathtaking, healthy, brave and funny little girl was living, half starved, in an orphanage... just one year ago.

We were blessed to be in Hawaii in the days leading up to the Presidential election. I wore my Obama t-shirt almost every day (not appreciated by the group of Republican Texans hanging near the pool) The night before the election I got on my knees and prayed for an election for the first time in my life. I prayed for hope for our country, I prayed for a good man to be recognized and voted into office. On election day I cried for joy when it was announced the Barack Obama would be our next President. Kajal was frightened by my tears until I explained that I was truly happy and my joy couldn't be held back, the tears were an expression of my joy and hope for our future. I explained that this was an important day in history, that the country was voting for a man truly based on who he was and what he had to offer. I explained that in the past people had been judged first by the way they looked on the outside, instead of what God would want us to do... accept and see what is on the inside, what was in someone's heart. That the world was celebrating this man's goodness, his intelligence at the same time the world celebrated the beauty and love in his family, inside and out, this was a beautiful and hopeful day.. she laughed with me even though she didn't truly understand.  But I knew, I knew this day was the start of a brighter future for all of us...
Hope was on the horizon.