My parents left on Tuesday and Warren arrived home on Tuesday. I was feeling emotional about all of it. I am so happy Warren is home. I am so happy our family is together again and I can just wrap my arms around Warren after a completely emotional and draining two weeks. I know the grief journey is a long one and it has just begun for him....for all of us. Again, if anything has really stuck with me since we got the terrible news, it's that I am just so grateful we had Glen in our lives when we did. Warren is such an amazing dad and husband, largely due to his dad's example.
My parents left after a pretty great 30 days. I am extremely touched that they chose to get out of their comfort zone and fly all the way across the world to see us. I know the journey is not easy or cheap...but I think we all are so happy they did it. The kids thrived with them being around and definitely feel their absence now. While some may think it is long to have your parents with you for a whole month (it kind of is).... it's also worth it. They truly got to see our daily lives and have such a deeper understanding of our lives in and our love of Fiji. The distance between us seems smaller now. Also, I am more aware than ever how important it is to treasure the times with our aging parents/grandparents...so I felt even more thankful to have them here. Overall there was a lot of love and that is a good thing.
My dad posted this on Facebook about the trip. I think it speaks volumes about their time here.
We are back home after spending the last 30 glorious days in Fiji visiting our daughter Kate and her family. The trip was great. Being home again is great. Fiji is a wonderful place to visit. Home is a wonderful place too.
The highlight was indisputably being able to spend some top quality time with the family. They are doing well and continue to enjoy their adventure and their life in general.
Kate facilitated the logistics and general planning and without that assistance it would not have been as perfect or as affordable. She wisely included short visits to three different Fijian resorts as well as an adventurous walk in a rain forest, an assent up a marvelous mountain river to see the highest waterfall in Fiji; a meal and kava ceremony if a small Fijian village, complete with a lovu (similar to the Hawaiian practice of cooking an entire meal in a buried fire pit); shooting the rapids on a bamboo raft; surfing (the grand kids ) on an expansive and beautiful beach; visiting the Fiji Museum; dining in a great variety of restaurants featuring new and delicious cuisine; parties with a delightful assortments of their varied and interesting friends; and an ample and indulgent amount of time to swim in her pool, quietly read several books, and take the requisite naps my full maturity requires.
The weather was warm; the vegetation lush, beautiful and varied, the birds were interesting and beautiful; all the people were friendly and welcoming; fishing was beautiful (not productive); and I completed (with delightful company helping) a number of jig saw puzzles.
Getting there and back was not easy, but only arduous not intolerable. We left to come home on Tuesday afternoon late and arrived in LAX on Tuesday morning before lunch. The trip home included nearly 20 hours of flight time, more than a dozen hours of layover time, and multiple time zone changes. It has left us tired, jet lagged, and somewhat numb. Overall it was so worth it.
I plan to take a month to get caught up on stuff then spend some time touring the USA with my son in his new Kenworth Truck. Life continues to be good and has promise of even more adventure.
What also speaks volumes is the pictures. I will add some captions for the ones that need an explanation. There a lot of pictures but they tell the story well!
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| sunset from the porch |
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| Here is Mom getting her final product from the tailor. She was very pleased! |
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| Terrible lighting...but both parents with their Bula wear! |
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| We went to Nangani for the weekend. The girls have the best time there climbing trees, exploring beaches, and mostly splashing around on the water slide. It's so beautiful...and I think the bugs and heat only bothered my parents a little bit... |
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| Dad enjoyed a lot of hammock time! (I wonder how many books he finished while he was here!) |
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| Zoë insisted on wearing this swim cap for her beach time. I thought it was funny. |
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| finding treasures |
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| the walk out to the little island was a bit icky for my mom....but worth it! |
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| cartwheels on the beach! |
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| sister time |
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| mom and daughter |
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| Three generation selfie! |
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| This was one of many model poses from Andie |
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| love this shot! |
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The girls and I got to go to a private beach to snorkel and hang out. We were the only ones there. It was SO beautiful. At the same time, Glen's service was happening. We all talked about PaPa and our happy memories of him. I thought about him a lot and how much he would have enjoyed that beach.
Mom was supposed to come with us...but got sick at the last minute. I was sorry she missed it....but it was nice just the three of us as well.
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| I mean...really? This is what my kids are getting used to when it comes to snorkeling?! |
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| love this shot too! |
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| The boat captain took these last few shots when he came back to pick us up. |
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| this was on the way to Nangani |
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| couldn't resist snapping some pics of this cutie. |
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| We went to see the dolphins as well. It was awesome again! |
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| room view |
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| Also Dad got to witness one of the neighbors climb our trees for coconuts. He gave a lot of them to us (yum!) and we gave the rest to him to sell. It was a great deal! |
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| Dad got to do some fishing while here. Another good shot. (Thanks to Lach for taking him out!) |
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| In the midst of it all we had another sad goodbye. The girls will miss Mele and Ma'u so much! We will see you in Thailand! |
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