now that you understand the cast of characters that makes of my family nucleous, (and my hawaiian traveling companions), i wanted to share with you some of my aspirations while in hawaii. you've gotta love 'em:
1. understanding more about polynesian culture
2. learning how to surf
3. learning how to hawaiian dance (including swinging my hips like a hawaiian dancer)
4. blowing into a conch shell like a polynesian chief, poised atop a mountain jutting out of the water
5. wearing 20 lai's around my neck, head, arms and legs, and feeling like a queen
6. surf fishing, or spear fishing
7. snorkeling
8. sailboating
9. drinking smoothies every day (ok, maybe every other day)
10. getting a SWEET tan
now that i got my list of to do's down.. let's see where this polynesian tradewinds blow..
Friday, July 17, 2009
introduction: a branch of my family tree
mom's dream is now a vivid postcard before our eyes. since youth, she's dreamed of sharing this secret world with us. a land where silky, velvet sand slips through our toes and fingers. where waves are a record that sooth us to sleep nightly. where are our eyes are reflective globes of mini sherbet sunsets. where our hair tickles and jumps with joy as the trade winds flow through it. where the aloha spirit can be felt as a native extends his hand to you.
our whole family has arrived to spend the next 2 1/2 weeks together on the polynesian islands of hawaii. i have come from san diego, they have come from sea isle city, new jersey, our childhood home. by me, i mean, katie, a 26 year old- more details to come. by my family, i mean the 3 people who i describe below, who i am closest to in this world (besides my fiance, marcus-more to come on him later). one's family speaks volumes about a person. so by describing my family, i suppose one can better understand me. my family arriving from new jersey includes:
-my dad, dale. a 57 year old retired verizon lineman. 5'9'' in stature and a slightly plump fellow but not enough to call him chubby or even large. black hair but strands of grey moving in, jovial in nature. he cracks jokes that only his closest companions feel comfortable telling him aren't always funny. he loves traveling (especially tropical islands) but he has grown up in sea isle city, new jersey, and never moved away. his '50s era home was everything you'd picture it to be: betty crocker mom, "honey i'm home" dad. his mom and dad met in the WWII navy, and fell in love. he has 1 sister, younger, barbara, who also still lives in sea isle city. he is a man who loves his family deeply, and would do anything for his wife and 2 girls. he is good at giving advice and quite snappy when it comes to stomping on anyone who "gives us crap."
-my mom, a 52 year old middle school secretary. she held the same dyed blonde spherical hairdo for the majority of my sister and i's lives. recently, she got the "bouncing ball" chopped, and has taken a more modern spin on her style. my sister and i hardley recognized her upon this realization. she has had a self proclaimed "what not to wear" type of experience with her wardrobe and topped with the new 'do, i can't remember a time when she looked better- she is one "cute as a button" mom. unfortunately, she has an upsetting medical problem which causes her to burp sometimes incessantly, if the physiological barometers in her body spontaneously and unpredictably flair up. this causes for much staring and public embarrassment to my poor mother and the rest of us. as well, she is going through menopause, and constantly needs fanning and conditioning. she is an extremely devout catholic who is known to put holy cards in my socks and suitcases prior to my world travels, as well as dousing holy water on not only our poodle(dogs go to heaven too, right?) but my dad, during his temper tantrums. she's also constructed over the years, a collection of "mary" statuettes, icons, and artifacts, which she piles neatly (sometimes) ontop of her antique desk cornered in their new jersey sitting room. nearby this "shrine", every morning she diligently prays her rosary. i am certain those prayers have done a lot for our family.
-last, my 24 year old elementary school teacher sister, heather. at a young age, i remember heather and i being at odds. i had always felt she did the most ridiculous things to annoy me. for example, snoring outrageously on family vacations in hotels(the nerve of her!!!). i still remember waking up in the middle of one night, in such a rage, that i grabbed my purse by the strap, and gave her a swift wack on the abdomen, that promptly broke up the snoring (and continued our strife filled relationship). what a horror i was! i also remember how jealous she got when i had my first boyfriend, joe. me, a 19 year- old-almost-college-freshman, she a 17 year old-junior-in-high school, we still weren't quite mature. as my boyfriend and i drove away in my car one day, she jumped on the roof of my car, like a fly stuck to fly paper, trying to stop us from "leaving her" and almost injuring herself. there's where her joe-proclaimed nickname(currently not in use), "heather the hemrhoid" came into play...oh, those were the days.
i remember around early college years/late high school when we finally began bonding and it was a long awaited, beautiful thing. it was almost like we both shed our immature cocoons and finally realized the friends we had in each-other. no more petty fighting, no more jealousy. we bonded over clothes, music, boys. we developed a deep love, friendship, and trust in each other and today we consider each other best friends. i am so blessed by my sister and cannot imagine life without her. she is a treasure to me that i will protect and love all my life. she is one of the most hard working, driven, selfless people i know. she has committed herself to loving and teaching some of the most difficult children to work with: elementary aged kids with learning/behavioral disorders. her students love her with a passion and it's no wonder why. she once took them to the zoo, but in order to prep them, made an amazing video where she narrated the whole thing, explaining animals they'd see at the zoo, what noises they make, etc. all to orient the kids to the zoo, prior to going. she also has an amazing ability to plan awesome outings for not only her super cool boyfriend, luke, but also myself and our family. she once took luke, for her birthday, to a cooking class in new york. she also finds the coolest gifts: a giant fortune cooking with a personalized message..who finds this stuff, but my sister. not to mention she has amazing wardrobe style and music sense-it's no wonder we go together so swimmingly-we both are the coolest people alive! :)
i would not at all be who i am without these amazing 3 individuals. i thank God for them daily and cannot imagine my life without them.
our whole family has arrived to spend the next 2 1/2 weeks together on the polynesian islands of hawaii. i have come from san diego, they have come from sea isle city, new jersey, our childhood home. by me, i mean, katie, a 26 year old- more details to come. by my family, i mean the 3 people who i describe below, who i am closest to in this world (besides my fiance, marcus-more to come on him later). one's family speaks volumes about a person. so by describing my family, i suppose one can better understand me. my family arriving from new jersey includes:
-my dad, dale. a 57 year old retired verizon lineman. 5'9'' in stature and a slightly plump fellow but not enough to call him chubby or even large. black hair but strands of grey moving in, jovial in nature. he cracks jokes that only his closest companions feel comfortable telling him aren't always funny. he loves traveling (especially tropical islands) but he has grown up in sea isle city, new jersey, and never moved away. his '50s era home was everything you'd picture it to be: betty crocker mom, "honey i'm home" dad. his mom and dad met in the WWII navy, and fell in love. he has 1 sister, younger, barbara, who also still lives in sea isle city. he is a man who loves his family deeply, and would do anything for his wife and 2 girls. he is good at giving advice and quite snappy when it comes to stomping on anyone who "gives us crap."
-my mom, a 52 year old middle school secretary. she held the same dyed blonde spherical hairdo for the majority of my sister and i's lives. recently, she got the "bouncing ball" chopped, and has taken a more modern spin on her style. my sister and i hardley recognized her upon this realization. she has had a self proclaimed "what not to wear" type of experience with her wardrobe and topped with the new 'do, i can't remember a time when she looked better- she is one "cute as a button" mom. unfortunately, she has an upsetting medical problem which causes her to burp sometimes incessantly, if the physiological barometers in her body spontaneously and unpredictably flair up. this causes for much staring and public embarrassment to my poor mother and the rest of us. as well, she is going through menopause, and constantly needs fanning and conditioning. she is an extremely devout catholic who is known to put holy cards in my socks and suitcases prior to my world travels, as well as dousing holy water on not only our poodle(dogs go to heaven too, right?) but my dad, during his temper tantrums. she's also constructed over the years, a collection of "mary" statuettes, icons, and artifacts, which she piles neatly (sometimes) ontop of her antique desk cornered in their new jersey sitting room. nearby this "shrine", every morning she diligently prays her rosary. i am certain those prayers have done a lot for our family.
-last, my 24 year old elementary school teacher sister, heather. at a young age, i remember heather and i being at odds. i had always felt she did the most ridiculous things to annoy me. for example, snoring outrageously on family vacations in hotels(the nerve of her!!!). i still remember waking up in the middle of one night, in such a rage, that i grabbed my purse by the strap, and gave her a swift wack on the abdomen, that promptly broke up the snoring (and continued our strife filled relationship). what a horror i was! i also remember how jealous she got when i had my first boyfriend, joe. me, a 19 year- old-almost-college-freshman, she a 17 year old-junior-in-high school, we still weren't quite mature. as my boyfriend and i drove away in my car one day, she jumped on the roof of my car, like a fly stuck to fly paper, trying to stop us from "leaving her" and almost injuring herself. there's where her joe-proclaimed nickname(currently not in use), "heather the hemrhoid" came into play...oh, those were the days.
i remember around early college years/late high school when we finally began bonding and it was a long awaited, beautiful thing. it was almost like we both shed our immature cocoons and finally realized the friends we had in each-other. no more petty fighting, no more jealousy. we bonded over clothes, music, boys. we developed a deep love, friendship, and trust in each other and today we consider each other best friends. i am so blessed by my sister and cannot imagine life without her. she is a treasure to me that i will protect and love all my life. she is one of the most hard working, driven, selfless people i know. she has committed herself to loving and teaching some of the most difficult children to work with: elementary aged kids with learning/behavioral disorders. her students love her with a passion and it's no wonder why. she once took them to the zoo, but in order to prep them, made an amazing video where she narrated the whole thing, explaining animals they'd see at the zoo, what noises they make, etc. all to orient the kids to the zoo, prior to going. she also has an amazing ability to plan awesome outings for not only her super cool boyfriend, luke, but also myself and our family. she once took luke, for her birthday, to a cooking class in new york. she also finds the coolest gifts: a giant fortune cooking with a personalized message..who finds this stuff, but my sister. not to mention she has amazing wardrobe style and music sense-it's no wonder we go together so swimmingly-we both are the coolest people alive! :)
i would not at all be who i am without these amazing 3 individuals. i thank God for them daily and cannot imagine my life without them.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
