Seven Perfect Days

I've always thought that it was an undisputed fact that Hawaii was the paradisiacal destination practical people like myself could dream about and then, upon arriving at some state of middle aged financial equilibrium, actually eventually visit.  When we first got married and Derek and I would talk about our hopes and dreams for the future, his response to my desire to travel there was, "Nah... I think Hawaii is definitely overrated." I recognized that he had spent two years in the Caribbean and might therefore be a bit of a tropical island paradise snob, so he did not deter me. I simply made it a point over the last eighteen years to nonchalantly refer to our twentieth wedding anniversary trip to Hawaii as often as possible in casual conversation, and I think he had pretty much caught the vision.

For obvious reasons there were times last year when we wondered if the trip would ever happen.  Then we started to think that we didn't need to wait until we had been married for 20 years to have a good excuse to go to Hawaii.  With some gentle nudges from friends and family, we decided that surviving a year of colon cancer (and the surgeries and chemotherapy that came with it) was the perfect thing to celebrate by taking a trip together.

So last week we left our snowy, cold, and gray Utah climate for the balmy, breezy, sunny shores of Oahu. We explored beach after beach, hiked through tropical gardens and forests, visited Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center, climbed up Diamond Head and down to some crazy blowholes, packed picnics and dined on local cuisine, wrestled huge waves and snorkeling gear (one of us, effectively and the other, not so much), and enjoyed every minute of our time together.  Each night we would say something to the effect of, "I'm glad we did "X," "Y," and "Z," today... It was the perfect day!"  The next day we would say the same thing. Amazingly, we could truthfully say that every single night!  Hawaii is just as wonderful as everyone says it is after all.  So much for being overrated:)

We left the kids home alone to continue on with their regular routine.  They are all quite independent and responsible and with a very detailed and specific schedule, they did great. We could not have enjoyed ourselves nearly as much if we had been worried about them.  The three younger kids made a weekend jaunt to Gram's for a change of scenery and we had plenty of neighborhood friends on the alert, but they were awesome about being orphans for a week. It makes me wonder why I continue to be the one waking everyone up every morning when it is clear that they don't really need me?!

I know that Oahu would have been just as perfect for us to explore together if we had been there on an anniversary celebration, but after a year of illness and uncertainty I think we appreciated it even more. Derek came home with a tan, a goatee, and an unhusked coconut. I came home with one less toenail, humidity induced crazy hair, and a lot of "memories" captured pathetically on my camera. Reality has already set in, but we will long be grateful for our seven perfect days in Hawaii.