We started paddle boarding in Okinawa. Ironic, really, that we would start learning a sport derived from ancient Hawaiian royalty in Japan. But we didn’t get to it much there. It would have made sense to do it there, where we were childless for a year or so, but instead we started to really get better at it here, back in its homeland, on these waters that held the first paddle boarders.
But because of the boys, it means that our paddle board is used more as a floatation device and diving board for the boys. Occasionally we do take short turns taking it out, often pushing out as Eliot screams because someone is leaving him.
Occasionally, very occasionally, we can convince careful Lincoln to ride on it with one of us. Joe had seen four turtles when he went out, so that was what Lincoln latched onto this day, and the two of us headed out, floating on water so clear it is hard to understand what supports us, holds us up, keeps us gliding towards the open ocean.
The coral lay below us, often pale and colorless, but every once in a while a deep purple, and Lincoln kept yelling, “Mom, I see a turtle!!!”, clearly thrilled where there were actually no turtles.
Sometimes it seems like we do everything at the wrong times. Sometimes we don’t live in the right places at the right time, or have children at the right time, or go to the beach at the right time. (This was the third week in a row that it rained at us on the beach.)
Moving to Hawaii pregnant and with a toddler is like being offered a free trip to Europe when you just started housebreaking a puppy. So we do Hawaii the best that we can, and sometimes that means that we do it ‘wrong’. It means that the only time we’ve been surfing is when grandparents are here to watch the boys, and we miss much of the culture and restaurants of Honolulu, because almost every time we leave our boys with a sitter at night it’s an unmitigated disaster.
And so we live this life that we are very grateful for, but one that we feel like we can’t take full advantage of. We take short paddle boarding trips with kids attached, we try to see turtles where there are none, and we use one of the most popular sports in Hawaii for a jumping place for boys. And we sit on a warm beach and watch the rain slam the distant islands.
And maybe we don’t actually see the turtles, but at least we can keep on trying.
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