maui-lani

i am currently on maui.

my parents have this timeshare on maui, and they needed to use it before it expired. so now, we're on maui for a week. me, my wife, willow and aiden are all in one room on the 8th floor of the kahana resort, and my parents, kathy, marcus and kara area ll in another room a couple of doors down.

kahana is on the western side of the "head" of maui, a few minutes away from lahaina. our timeshare unit is surprisingly nice, and we have an expansive view of the ocean, all the way to (i think) the islands of molokai and lanai.

unfortunately, willow and aiden are sick (in different ways). willow has been suffering from bouts of diarrhea, and aiden has periodic fevers. last night, starting from roughly 1 in the morning, my wife and i cared for him, giving him tylenol meltaways, having him drink electrolytes, soaking him in warm bathwater, wiping him down with a damp cloth. every now and then, he would cough, sounding like he was about to throw up, and i would have to scramble from whatever outlandish position i was sleeping in to take him to the nearest bowl/trashcan. turns out he didn't vomit, but we weren't taking any chances...

as a result of last night, my neck is currently "tweaked." i can't turn my head, particularly to the right. technically, i think i've got a levator scapula strain, but it seems a bit more extensive than that. usually, i'm pretty good about how i sleep, like lying on my back... but i woke up this morning lying on my stomach, my head turned, and a small pool of drool... my wife jokes about how i have to turn my whole body around whenever she calls... haha. ouch.

so far, we haven't done much. we arrived yesterday afternoon, but by the time we got to the kahana resort, it was already about 4 or 5. we just went over to the nearby sands at kahana restaurant. i had to act the part of the disciplinarian uncle a few times (take out the s**t stick). at one point, marcus was leaning with his palms on a nearby empty table, and (i swear) if i didn't shout out his name, he would've toppled the entire table, utensils and settings and all... i think i kind of hurt his feelings, he was really subdued after that, but... GOOD! sometimes, children need to appreciate appropriate behavior...

actually kathy and marcus are doing pretty good. we've been somewhat paranoid about their rambunctious ways, worried that "overexposure" would transfer to willow and aiden (i know, i know, "segregationist ideas"). but so far they've been really good. i think kathy and marcus look upon us (lynn and i) as caring role-models (at least i hope they do). i know they must sometimes feel something "wrong" with regards to their family situation. if i didn't have kids of my own, i'd spend a lot more time with them... they are both brilliant- they sometimes just need to appreciate context, and sometimes stray into the adhd category.

this morning, we played a lot at the downstairs pool, at the beach, in the hot tub. after that, we drove over to lahaina to eat lunch at the nearest mcdonald's. on the way back, we ended up going to hilo hattie's (lynn and my mom wanted to buy matching hawaiian outfits for all the kids). in the meantime, i tuned a couple of ukuleles (to my own preference), and read a story called "hina" (hina is the hawaiian word for grey, and willow's middle name) to willow.

by the time the shopping was over, it was about 1:30. and the kids were wilting. so we just decided to head back to the resort (having kids really cuts down on what you are able to do in a day!). we took a long nap, during which time my neck seems to have gotten somewhat worse. and then, i finally took advantage of the internet connection in the room to write this message to you (y'all).

my impressions of maui so far? well, funny. i actually have the distinct impression i've been here before. i mean, i have, twice actually. one with the swim team (aloha aquatics) and another with the honolulu boys' choir. the second visit, i think we actually stayed HERE, in kahana. i had this deja vu experience as i sat on the beach...

maui is generally quieter, and the building codes prevent a lot of "upward" construction; you don't see shopping malls going more than a floor or two up.

also, there are a lot of white people. i'd heard this before, but it's somewhat disconcerting. you can't tell tourists from locals. strange, but I feel like an outsider (a "haole") here. i don't know if it's paranoia, but sometimes when we walk into a restaurant, i feel eyes upon me, like: "ha, it's a 'local'; but WE rule here." okay, okay, i AM being paranoid. we've been treated really nice here. i think i've just been really tired. but one thing is true: there ARE a lot of white people here. i think the only ethnic people we've seen have been some filipino salespeople over at hilo hattie's.

more later.