Our Hawaiian family summer vacation, take #3, finally came to fruition last week. Our first attempt was during COVID (cancelled). Our second attempt was way-laid by, wait for itā¦ kids sports. When I called to move all the plane and hotel reservations for the third time, I promised myself, āWe are doing it this time!ā And we did, mostly.
We only toyed with moving it yet a fourth time as it became clear that our eldest wouldnāt be able to join because he was committed to something of the adulting variety- WORKING. Heād gotten an 8wk internship and decided it would be a bad look to ask for a week off during the middle of it. He made the right call. Sometimes you just need to ābite the bulletā and do the right thing and honestly as Iām getting ready to drop our third (and final!) child off at college in a few short weeks, the reality is, it is going to be harder and harder to find those times where we can all be together.
So, if you are a parent of younger kids, please heed my advice- you only get 18 summers with them. And while it is exciting to have our kids participating in lots of travel tournaments, keep your familyās priorities in check- to make FAMILY memories (away from the pitch, court or pool).
So, off the four of us went, albeit a little sad CJ couldnāt join, but mildly proud that he seemed fine with it and determined to make it a good week of work (and heck, think Home Alone for adult kidsā¦ sat by the pool, played guitar in his robe in the living room and left dishes undone for days. Gasp)
Hawaii didnāt disappoint. It had been 13 years since weād last been there. You forget how lush everything is and how idyllic the temperatures are. We had a week to doā nothing! I kept my promise to myself and took social media apps off my phone at the airplane left LAX. It was uncomfortable at first- it is just such a habit to check it when weāre bored, isnāt it? But after digging into my first of three books, I was content as a turtle splashing in the waves along the beach (which we saw a lot of! see photo below).
We were feeling the calm and the peace of being unplugged, playing card games in the lobby after dinner every night and sitting on the veranda watching the sun set over the oceanic horizon. One night Evan and Parker wanted to have a few minutes to hang out and play some pool together so off they went as I dove further into my beach read to find out if Alice would remember what sheād forgot. lol
The next morning over breakfast, the guys shared with me a story that brought tears to my eyes. Iāll let Evan tell the story,
Parker and I were waiting by the pool table. There were three other groups ahead of us waiting to play, so we just hung out and chatted while watching surf competitions (as you do in HI) on the sports channel in the lobby bar. We noticed one small boy who, every time a game ended, would jump up to the table and re-rack the balls. We were trying to figure out which family he belonged to. He wasnāt speaking to anyone, he didnāt ask to play, he just inserted himself to help rack the balls.
Finally, it was our turn to have the table. As I walked toward it, this strong, athletic built Dad with a bushy beard, broad shoulders and a baseball hat walked over, pointed to the boy racking the balls and with a deep Australian accent offered,
āThatās my 10-year-old son, Mack. Heās struggled with health issues his entire life. Heās had two open heart surgeries to date. Every time they work on his heart, they have to adjust the size of the valves they replace. They arenāt sure how many more surgeries weāll have to do or if they have the medicine to keep up with his growing body. I only want whatās best for Mack. So, I asked him to make a bucket list. He had surfing in Hawaii and traveling to America at the top of his list. So here we are. My goal is to help him get to experience as many of his life goals as possible and get to do them with him.ā
Wow. That puts things in perspective really quickly. I choked on my pineapple as Evan told me the story. It really drives home what we say a lot but with busy lives we donāt get to do that often. Enjoy this moment. Take the time to be together. Enjoy the trip. Make the memories. Tomorrow isnāt promised. And we all want our kids to live their best lives.
Hawaiian living...
Be like Mack.
That same day I saw Mack and his Dad splashing around in the pool. I can only imagine what was going through his head as he was making memories, hoping heāll get many more years to make them with his son.
I hope you are all having wonderful summers, enjoying the ride and unplugging occasionally. I am grateful for you all. I love what I do and count myself so lucky I get to help people find their passions and live pursuit of their best life.
Xoxox
Kir
I am excited to support Robert Icart and BTI Hoops this Saturday night at this event to honor 25 years of BTI Hoops.
Expecting 250+ alumni, LA Lakers, Clippers with ESPN anchor to host
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Thank you to our great friends Asia Mape and ILTWYP (https://ilovetowatchyouplay.com/) for recommending my book! (In great companyš«¶šÆ)
