[Note: this is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]
6/13/21
Aloha Everybody –
Our main focus this week has been our mainland guests – Karen’s close teaching friend from Ohio and her twin 11 year-old granddaughters. They arrived on Monday afternoon and after a beach picnic we had the twins in the ocean within a couple of hours. Big hit, as was our pool when we got home.
Not such a big hit, though were my explanations of geology, culture, climate, and volcanology. It seems even very bright 11-year-olds don’t have much patience for minutiae. So I quickly learned I had to dial it *way* back – tough for me since I haven’t had much chance at pontificating for quite a while.
Thanks to Karen’s tutelage we got them used to snorkeling in our pool and then did the real thing at one of our nearby beach parks. That went well, but grandmother cut her toe on some coral and required some first aid by the nice life guard on duty. That and a chronic knee problem curtailed some of the hiking I had planned.
We spent Thursday and Friday nights at the volcano, even staying in the historic Volcano House that is right on the rim of Kilauea caldera. Even though there wasn’t any volcanic activity, this is an awesome experience. The sights around the National Park are also very special and one that seemed to be interesting to the kids was walking through a section of the huge Thurstone lava tube. The weather was about the best Karen and I can remember it ever being there – crystal clear and warm Thursday and Friday. Saturday when we left, though, was the much more common drizzle and cool weather for the volcano area. In fact, it was cloudy and occasionally rainy the rest of our time on the windward side. Still, it didn’t interfere with a stop at a couple of waterfalls and bayside picnic lunch in Hilo.
We’re now back in Kona and I’m writing this Sunday morning. Unfortunately it is raining, unusual for us, so we’ll have to shift our plans a bit – the big event will be a submarine ride in Kailua Bay with some indoor shopping to follow.
We’re enjoying our young visitors but it has been a real education about what it’s like to be with kids. Not sure we could ever have made it as parents....
Take care, enjoy your summer.
4 comments:
Must be tough teaching raccoons to snorkel. Did I miss something?
I think your decision to be childless was a good one. I wouldn't give up my child and her children for anything. At the same time I see the impact more people has on the earth. We are not kind in our impact even when we don't intend to cause harm. Besides you can always teach raccoons!
Hoppy -- easy. They already have the masks, we just supply the tube....
Dennis -- couldn't agree more. In our 30+ years of teaching we had a pretty good shot at influencing many raccoons, hopefully for the better. It was certainly hard work, but the day-in-day-out-24/7 guidance parents have to do is something I don't think I could have accomplished.
Dick, I smiled imagining you entertaining those twins. I hope the twins’ experience with you and Karen is a memorable one that pops up in their minds occasionally when they are much older. I never, ever had any interest in raising children for a variety of reasons. My only concern was that I might regret it, as several people predicted. In 66 years, I have had no regrets. I do enjoy my husband’s grown children whom I did not raise. My granddaughter, who lives in another state, is a pleasure. My grandson is autistic and we never bonded. But there is always hope.
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