The Honor System

Okay, so it's been way too long since I last posted. I've come to discover that whenever I have time to do something other than take care of kids, cook or clean, I have a host of other things I "should" do or really want to do. I've been wanting to write about this honor system thing for a while now, though, so here goes...

As I've been writing this blog in part to talk about how life is different in Hawaii as compared to the mainland, the honor system is definitely something I've been encountering frequently here on the island. There seems to be a higher degree of trust and honor among people than I recall seeing back in California. For example, Alex had his spring school pictures taken last week. The school sent home the usual school picture packet telling us what to expect, how to best prepare our child and how to choose from their selection of poses. Payment was not required. They took the photos and will send a full package home with Alex. If we like them, we choose the photos we wish to keep and send the rest back with a check. So we only pay for the ones we keep and they trust us to send the rest back??? And to pay at all? I've never heard of such a thing, have you???

Down the road a bit there is a produce stand. They mostly sell macadamia nuts, but you never know what you might find. I've never seen anyone there watching over the stand, they simply put out a jar and ask that you kindly pay for whatever you take. One of these days I'm going to give them some business just to experience the high degree of trust they put in me, a total stranger.

A couple of weeks ago I finally stopped by the local consignment store at a time when their door was open (which, I now know, is only on Wednesday afternoons). I walked in to find a small store full of interesting finds and no one in it. I spent at least 20 minutes in there before a woman walked in. She just smiled at me, came in and picked something up and was about to walk out when I asked, "Do you work here? How do I pay for what I want?" She said, "Oh, if you find something you want, just walk over to As Hawi Turns and you can pay one of us there." As Hawi Turns is a little shop geared towards the tourists right on the highway. I had my hands full of little things I planned to purchase like a $3 wetsuit for Aaron and some decor items. I could have easily carried it all straight to my car and driven away. I wonder if they ever would have noticed the missing items. I did walk down to the storefront and paid my $30 as I could not have lived with the guilt had I simply walked off with it all! They might have never known, but I would have. It makes me wonder about others, though. Is everyone around here really that honest?

These are just a few "honor system" examples that I've encountered in our nearly three months here. I think it's so interesting and actually very cool!

Winter and Laundry

After living in Mammoth for 6 winters, the term "winter" came to mean cold and snow and way too much time spent indoors. When January rolled around and we arrived here in Hawaii, I laughed at the fact that it was "winter" yet I got up each day and picked out a tank top and a pair of capris and was comfortable from sunrise to sunset. We even managed to spend several days at the beach and began to get some color on our winter-white flesh. This was my kind of winter.

Then came February. I have noticed a real change in the weather from when we first arrived. Now I get up and pick out a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans or long pants. Slippers are still my daily choice for footwear (or flip-flops, as they are known by you mainlanders), but there are times in the evenings when I trade in my slippers for socks! I don't remember the last time we had a clear, sunny day. The wind howls, the rain pours, the sky is gray, my skin is once again pale. This is a Hawaiian winter.

One challenge winter has brought to me is in the laundry department! I was very content to buy a second-hand washing machine and no dryer, happy to line-dry my clothes in the breeze. I ordered a nice umbrella-style clothesline to put in the backyard in full view of the sun where the clothes would dry nicely in a few hours. It's been sitting in the garage for two weeks. I also purchased two indoor drying racks which sit in our bedroom and it takes both of them to hang one load of laundry to dry, not to mention about 24 hours of drying time! I have one small line outside under the carport where I can hang sheets and larger items when I need to. Needless to say, drying laundry in a Hawaiian winter is a challenge! Did I mention that I use cloth diapers??? Yeah, those take a LONG time to dry!

I must say, though, that I am not complaining and would still take a Hawaiian winter over a Sierra Nevada winter any day!

Emotions

I haven't had much time to blog lately, or at least to actually sit down and type it out and post it. I have an ongoing blog in my head and some things I've wanted to write about, but tonight I can only cry. Twice today I have been caught by surprise tears. Alright, so I'm pregnant and I don't sleep more than 3 hours a night...but still...

First it was the dolphins, which I didn't even get a decent photo of because my camera died after taking the photo BEFORE we saw the dolphins. Of course. I don't know what it is about those animals, but I have loved them since the 4th grade when I wrote my first research paper on bottlenose dolphins. I recall once seeing them in the ocean, but not really clearly. I knew there were dolphins at The Hilton today and we were even looking for them, but when suddenly they were right in front of me the tears just came out without warning! They were so beautiful. The dolphins, that is. Peter laughed and said, "Wow Jen, I didn't know you loved dolphins so much!" Ha!

Tonight it was the photo of Aaron. I took a few pictures of the marker mess he made this evening and, after I put the boys to bed, I uploaded them to my computer. I saw this one photo and noted Aaron's cute little cheeks and just something about his sweet baby face and the tears turned on again! Then I really got myself going because I imagined Aaron going off to college and me looking back at this photo and trying to remember what he was like when he was 20 months old, but not being able to. Suddenly I wanted to freeze time and keep my little boys just as they are forever!!!

I so enjoy the things my boys do and say. Like after our lunch at the Macaroni Grill in Waikoloa today, I sat outside the restaurant with the boys while Peter paid the bill. We sat around a fountain and Alex pulled a few pennies up from the bottom and asked me what they were in there for. I told him people made wishes and threw them in there. So he decided to try it out, making his three wishes out loud. Here's what they were:

1) I want batteries for my Leapster.
2) I want my baby brother to have his very own train.
3) I want Alyma Joy to come out!

I was so touched by his selfless wishes! He wanted only batteries for himself, and batteries he will get!