Ka’anapali Love

I’m often so busy Parenting (with a capital P, phrase lovingly coined by Alyssa Brennan) that I forget how flabbergasted I am by love for my children.  Every now and then they will look at me in a certain way that makes my entire body vibrate with an overwhelming sense of adoration and responsibility.  Stewart and I, we made these people.

So here I am, in Maui for 4.5 days with Kyle.  His little 6-year-old brain, as you know by now, is sharp and absorbent.  He adapts quickly to environments and makes his opinions well known.  When we first arrived, hotel staff explained that you say “Aloha” in Hawaii as a greeting.  He replied “Well, I say ‘Hello’ because I’m American.”

Teaching moment.

Hours later, this skinny, precocious little boy was saying “Aloha” matter-of-factly to every passerby.  Most looked down at him in delighted surprise and returned the greeting.

Yesterday I had a full itinerary of experiences and for Kyle that meant two stints in Kid Camp at the Westin properties here in Ka’anapali – first the Westin Maui and later the Westin Villas.  He compared and contrasted the two locations and in the evening since he was the only child there he bonded well with the caregiver, Nui, who helped him crank out craft after craft.  They captured 2 sand crabs, which we are allowed to have as “pets” until we leave.  “I love Kid’s Club!” he declared after the experience.  “It was ALL art!”

Not one video game.  Hallelujah.

Not that I’m dissing video games.  I presented Kyle with a DSi on the airplane once we were seated.  He said I was the best mother in the world.  Even though I’m a Nintendo Brand Ambassador and I’ve been gifted three different DS modules over the years, I never whipped them out because I didn’t want to take his addiction to video games on the road.  But this was a special situation:  4 hours and 49 minutes on an airplane and Mom with a bad back.  I also added Angry Birds to my iPhone as an extra incentive.  He played that game while I got my chiropractic adjustment yesterday (thank God).

At this moment Kyle is sleeping peacefully.  We’re all wonked out with the 3 hour time difference from LA, so yesterday he was up at 4AM.  Yes, that is what I said.  Four.  AM.  But it’s now 7 and he’s snuggled up in the white sheets while I sit on our lanai at the Sheraton Maui drinking my single-serving hotel room coffee.  I suppose it can’t get much better than this.