Our last night on the island we attended a traditional luau at the Hale Koa, a military resort on Waikiki Beach. What a fun way to end the trip! We drank Mai Tai's (our first if you can believe that!), participated in some traditional Polynesian fun, watched an awesome Polynesian show, ate some fantastic food, and some not so fantastic food. Please see the slideshow of Kaitlyn's priceless Poi Face. It is worth it! Oh, and the pineapple we had throughout our stay was divine!
The show was pretty entertaining. The kids loved it, as did we. Kaitlyn even got recruited to go on stage to learn how to hula. Ryan had no interest in going. It was fun to sit back and watch her take it all in. Unfortunately, our video didn't turn out, but we did snap a few photos. There was also a little boy who was 8 years old and number one in his division of under 10, or something like that, for a sport they call flame throwing. If you have a minute, watch the video. It is amazing what he does with fire. I couldn't get over the fact that he was just a little bit older that Kaity. She's hardly allowed to look at fire. :)
Towards the end of the show, the emcee asked people who were currently serving in the military to stand up and be acknowledged. Bill always ignores this request. Especially at Sea World. I think he reluctantly stood up at the end after enough prompting from his little angel. Then they worked backwards through all of the significant periods of wartime our country has seen recently. By the time they had gotten to World War II, there was one man standing. He and his wife had been married for 65 or 67 years and I couldn't help but think of my own grandparents. What Tom Brokaw calls the greatest generation. I think of my grandparents and all of the friends they have known, loved, and lost. Sure they have made new friends, younger friends, but I know they struggle with seeing their closest friends leave them and being the ones left behind. Now in their mid-eighties, they are the few left standing of this greatest generation. I feel so blessed and honored that I have been able to spend so much time with them in my adult life, even though that life has taken me far away in miles. That my kids really know their great-grandparents and that the greatest generation gets to positively affect another generation. Eighty plus years their junior. My kids LOVE their GG and PopPop and talk of them often. When God takes away, he also gives. When He took away my husband for a year, He gave me time with my grandparents and with our other family. He made everything come together so that I could have that, and for that, I am eternally grateful.
Here I am digressing again. Two posts, not where I was planning on going, but where I was led. I know my grandparents are reading this, and to a great extent, one of the main reasons I keep it going. It makes them happy when I post. It shortens the distance between us. Between my little family and all of our extended family. So, since you are reading, I just wanted to take the opportunity to tell you (AGAIN) how much I love you, admire you, and are blessed by you. How much of a positive difference you have made in my life, in my children's lives, and the dynamic impact you leave on nearly everyone you encounter. How much I treasure the time we have been able to spend together. From the time we lived with you the first part of my second grade year, to that month on the beach every summer, to the family holidays, and to the visits we've had in our homes across the country and yours. The ordinary and the extraordinary. And how much I am looking forward to seeing you in just one month!
Back to the luau. At the end of this tribute to all veterans, they played I'm Proud to be an American. This song gets me every time and our last evening in Hawaii was no exception. Having spent the morning in Pearl Harbor it was impossible to choke back the tears and a few fat ones fell. Maybe it was that I was leaving paradise, but I think I would have had the same reaction had I been staying another night. It was a fun and moving night and we couldn't have asked for a better way to wrap up our trip.
Slideshow of the pictures from the luau.
No comments:
Post a Comment