My comfort zone is starting to get uncomfortable

Our little family has had a rough year:

Moving

'wait-list homelessness' at the Navylodge

Homeschool (yes, it's rough)

and way too many goodbyes - some more temporal than others.

But the one constant throughout all of this has been our extended o'hana, the Lallatin's.

There are kids in my life that I love like my own. People in my life whom I love like my own blood. And I have the Dawg's growth charts on my hallway wall to prove it.

First meeting these guys years ago in Guam - they moved to Hawaii within a week of our arrival. They were our instant comfort zone!

Birthdays, holidays, trains and Tara's dinners!

Tara was the one who unpacked my onebumkitchen - and enjoyed it!

Cody endured a week with Mollydog - because they knew there was no other option for Garrett.

Tara was the one who drove over to my house in the middle of the night just to give me a hug within the first moments of me waking her up to tell her my mom had just died.

I know for the next while there will be tears mixed with laughter; (highschool)musical mixed with memory and joy mixed with heartache.

It's time to adjust.

Take time to smell the frangipani

I just came in from our nightly cockroach dive with Molly. While we were outside enjoying the evening chill I noticed this wonderful familiar scent. The plumerias are in full bloom! The scent of that tropical flower is incredibly intoxicating. (And I'm not referring to the body lotion type)

I've had a love affair with this particular flower that dates back to our first visit to Hawaii many years ago.
I was so excited when we arrived on Guam to see plumerias everywhere! I thought I had landed in paradise (a ghetto paradise, but still . . . .)

In 2005 while I was in Hawaii having some ugly skin cancer removed, my sweet David planted a plumeria tree directly out our back window in Guam. It was one of the best welcome home gifts a girl could have ever imagined!

Like I said - it's a beautiful and exotic botanical.

And unfortunately there aren't any in Colorado Springs!

As I came back in the house tonight, I decided I need to go back for a brief re-sniff; just for those of you who aren't able to enjoy it for yourself right now.

If you can't play with the big dogs . . . .

.... Don't go to the beach!
(a typical Sunday at Dog Beach on Hickam. Molly actually loves it!)

April 12, 1971

My dear friend Misse posted some wonderful insight on her blog a while back. Rather than try and rewrite the same idea - just pop over and read for yourself.