It's our last night in Maui. My step-aunt and her beautiful, beautiful kiddies came by, so our little ol' house in Haiku was packed with my Grandpa, Grandma Linda, Aunty JJ, Mom, Dad, Justin, Annie, Val, Josie, Jeremy, myself and of course Lily, the crazy dog.
The first thing Jeremy did was give Aunty JJ a blanket because she was leaving on the plane tonight, and you need a blanket on the plane to sleep, he says. What a darling.
It was such a beautiful night. Grandma Linda gave me a pair of beautiful little earrings she has been wanting to pass down to me since I was 8. We took a family photo on the couch. We danced around each other in Grandpa's tiny kitchen, frying eggs and bacon and slapping them on bread for dinner. We laughed about the broken microwave, and Jeremy stirring up the dog, and Josie spitting egg into Annie's lap right when she least suspected it. We talked about a house, two school shirts, a magnifying glass, spilled milk, missing paper towels, the road to Hana, clothes shopping, and a million other things that big families talk about. And it was so perfect, and it felt so right, and I'm going to miss it so much it hurts. I'm scared I won't see them for another five years. I hope it's sooner. Somehow, I think it will be.
See you next week.
