Dearest blog readers,
Currently, as I sit here typing this, I am lounging
length-wise on a super comfy, red-wine colored love seat sofa in our carport.
It was pitch dark (except for the illuminated computer screen) up until about
three minutes ago when my grandma {adopted} stirred from where she is sleeping
on the mattress on the floor next to me and said (by way of command), “Kesaia, on the light,” after
which she promptly dozed off again. Haha, thus is my life of the past six
months. My name is Kesaia, and as far as the locals are concerned, my life
began when I arrived here on Maui nine months ago. That sort of newness is both
freeing and confusing, but I’ve learned to embrace it. I still live with my
wonderful and much beloved hanai Tongan family who welcomed me into their home
last October. Together we enjoy a silly and super-super awesome integrated
life (complete with dinners featuring both boiled fish and lasagna), and it makes me so happy. Lately (as in, for the past six months) I have
felt like joy just blooms in my chest—it exists as a glowing, warmth-emanating
orb that is constantly stirring and moving, delighting me every single day. I wish
I could give each of you a taste of it. When asked, I give the following
reasons for my happiness:
-
I feel like, at this point in my life, I have
really just learned to enjoy.
-
I know who I am, that Heavenly Father knows and
loves me, and has a plan for me.
-
I know where I come from, and I love and respect
both my familial forbearers, and my contemporary family members. I have the
greatest family on earth.
-
I know some of the most amazing people on earth.
Angelic friends, coworkers, managers, bosses, teachers, mentors, neighbors,
ward members, etc. all touch my life daily.
I guess, all summed up, my happiness just comes down to the
goodness of God. Actually, that really is what it all comes down to. I know He’s
there and that He loves us.
I recently returned from a trip to the mainland to visit
family and friends, watch my sister and two beloved
freunde graduate from my also-much-beloved alma mater, and
celebrate my angelic mother’s birthday. [talk about an amazing life—in her
short 47 years my mom has produced 8 kids, 1 welcoming home, multiple
successful business, two dozen-ish of the most spoiled chickens on the planet, an
uncountable number of friends who love her, about a bazillion hours spent in
the service of someone else, and just about that many lives touched. and she’s
just getting started!] It was a great trip. A fantastic trip! A much-loved and
appreciated and anticipated and enjoyed trip. I spent hours catching up with
loved ones, hours enjoying the much-missed beauty of UT/ID mountains/valleys,
and hours soaking up the peace and beauty of the
house of the Lord. As per
usual, I passed more time at home wearing pajamas than any “real” clothes, and
I read five-ish really, really good books. [one word:
Unbroken. Get it. Read
it. Love it] When I returned to Hawaii I was greeted by my dear friend
humidity, whom my epidermis missed greatly, and again, by my family here, whom
I missed greatly. It is good to be back
on my island home once again, surrounded by sun and warmth and Tongan and salt
water and love and mayonnaise and my job, which just makes my life complete.
[okay, I’m kind of kidding about the mayonnaise. I actually didn’t miss it at
all].
At present, the soundtrack of my life consists of the following
things:
-
The love-song karaoke fest sung gratis nightly by my friendly Filipino neighbors,
also known as future contestants on “Manila
Idol”
-
The sound of kids yelling “Marco!” “Polo!”
reverberating off rock and flagstone in the pool at work
-
The ever-present chatter of birds “talking story”
in palm, mango, banyan, coconut, and plumeria trees
-
The chirping of geckos on/in the walls of my
house
-
The far-away sound of the ocean when I am at
work or standing quietly off the street near my house
-
The droll of multiple languages I don’t understand
being spoken around me—Tagolog, Ilocano, Tongan, Samoan, Japanese, Pidgin, and the
list goes on
As a schedule, mostly I work every day, go to church Sundays,
and try to fit in as much exercising, cooking, talking with my
sister/mom/family here, hanging out with the Laurels in my ward, and getting
the largest-size shave ice available, as I can. To be honest, and brace
yourself for this confession, I spend almost 0% of my time at the beach. This
is due mostly to still lacking anyone to go with [this is a thinly veiled invitation
for you to come go to the beach with
me], as well as a lack of day-light time/desire to hang out with tourists, who
comprise the largest population of beach frequenters. Overall my time outside
of work is spent “chilling,” and as difficult it was to adjust to post-college,
I’m perfectly acclimated now. (smile) I know well that time in our lives is constantly
moving and changing. The situations we’re in now won’t be the ones we are
dealing with in a year, or sometimes even a few short months or days. For me,
grad school is still calling. That is, if I can muster up enough courage and
strength to wrench myself from this Valley Isle, which, if you haven’t picked
up on yet, is the new place I love and call home. Truth be told, I never want
to leave. BUT I DO trust in Heavenly Father’s plan and in His timing. {and I
also secretly hope that my Heavenly home will have both a Mt. Timpanogos and a
view of Lanai as the sun is setting}.
As always, life is so good. There is much to be grateful
for.
Truly truly truly, we have great reason to rejoice.
Peace, love,
Me
