Gracie and Muffin...

The other day while visiting my precocious, whimsical, charming, quirky and slightly sensitive two-year-old niece Gracie, I was showing her a few photos of my private Hawaiian ceremony and said “see, there’s Uncle M.” To which she sweetly leaned over on the sofa and asked “Is he your boyfriend” (only it was like “boyshen’). Of course although I have no idea where she came up with this, I told her “well actually he’s my husband…we’re married. Do you know who else is married? Auntie Well and Uncle R are married and Amaxti and Papas are married…”

“And I can marry MAMA!!!!!” she announced excitedly…to which I told her, “You know who mama is married to? She’s married to dada!” Inadvertantly causing her to begin to get upset and well up with tears realizing she was the only one being left out of this whole marriage thing apparently. I didn’t quite know what to tell her, but she seemed to calm herself down and started to smile and announced “I can marry Muffin!”

“Sure! You can marry Muffin” I told her, turning to my sister to ask her if “Muffin” was a character from one of her books or television show or somewhere.

“No,” my sister informed me. “She’s talking about a muffin. Gracie loves to eat muffins.”

I see.

Crisis averted.

I think?

Things to love about Hawaii...

1. The beaches. I had never been to Hawaii so I was uncertain about what to expect and a little worried that it was all gonna be too touristy and crowded, but it turns out there are so many beaches that you can find exactly the one that suits you, including fairly secluded ones and whichever beach you choose has the clearest water, you can actually see your own feet!! I was in Santa Barbara last week and I actually said “Ick” when I saw the beach and imeediately realized that I have become a spoiled brat.





2. The Aloha Spirit. Everyone kept talking about this “Aloha Spirit” and until I was actually in Hawaii, I couldn’t fully appreciate the laid back, calm, friendly vibe the island seems to create. I loved it! Hawaiin culture does tend to have a bit of corniness with their Ukelele’s and Hawaiin shirts and spam (the canned meat not the kind you get e-mailed to you) and grass bedskirts, but in Hawaii it somehow all just works and you are overcome with the Aloha Spirit and come to embrace what you once viewed as a little corny.

3. The clouds. They move so quickly in Hawaii, you can’t help but remember how to cloudwatch.


4. Ice. You can literally make a meal of just ice…well and syrup too. I am quite the healthy eater, but after a morning in the water and sun a cup of shaved ice turns out to be quite satisfying. I strongly recommend adding a scoop of ice cream at the bottom. I know what you are thinking “Ice AND Ice cream together Square? Now that’s just craaaaazy talk!”, but trust me it’s a combination made in the paradise that is Hawaii.

5. Aloha. It means both “goodbye” AND “hello” as well as “I love you”. You’d think that’d get confusing, but it doesn’t.

6. The flowers and plantlife. Beautiful!! And soooo fragrant!



7. The culture. Hawaii has a rich culture and history that most local Hawaiins seeem to value and respect, which is something that seems to be missing in most America…there is an amazing respect for the land and Hawaii’s history, which is typically passed down orally and through chanting…we wer’e both blessed to get to hear our first Hawaiin chant at our wedding ceremony.


8. The rainbows. When I first saw that the Hawaiin lisence plates were white with a rainbow on them, I thought it was kinda silly. This of course was until I realized that you see so many rainbows in Hawaii. I saw three in one day (the day before our ceremony) and was told by Manulele (our officiant) that this was a very good sign.

9. The Sunsets. Amazing. Even the dogs stop to enjoy the sunset.




Aloha!
SquareGirl