The Westbrook Times: April 2016

April 20, 2016

Life’s Revolving Door

Every Christmas season I watch the Muppet's Christmas Carol. One line always surfaces to the front of my brain when I find myself witnessing the movement of those around me: “Life is full of meetings and partings. That is the way of it.”

This should be the motto of the place I work as new people come every week and students leave every week after any where from a 72 hour stay to multiple weeks and months. This too applies to the staff. My first shift was someone’s last. Out of the 10 people in my training group, there are only 5 left.

This week, I tried to figure out which line to say to those staff moving on, seeking new adventures, taking a step in a new direction: Best of luck...good-bye…farewell…see you later…until next time…until we meet again… I’ll see you when I see you….hasta la vista…

I know the probability of me seeing any of them ever again is slim to known. I find that I still struggle with the same hiccup in my life style: How much do I invest in building a relationship with people that are going to leave?

I still don’t have the answer. I know there isn’t enough time in the day or enough energy within my being to invest in everyone all the time. I am not built for that. So, I look for the moments when they arise, to be present and engaged in supporting people in the ways that I can.

And as I watch the people that I have gotten to know walk through the spinning door I am grateful they intersected with my life. I look back on the lessons they have taught me and the laughter they caused to well up within me and smile.

I know I will have moments when I wish some of them were part of a moment that was unfolding as I can imagine a reaction that would be priceless or an out-of-no-where bomb of wisdom that would blow my mind.

As the years pass, I look forward to seeing which memories float to the surface or which adventures are relived through a story with a new friend. The door will never stop revolving. People will always come and go for that truly is the way of it.

And so another page turns in their story and in mine.

All hands in for one final word - Pacific Quest style.

April 6, 2016

Merrie Monarch Festival

“Hula is the language of the heart….therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people”

This past week Hilo was the center of attention for the Hula community for this Island and a good many of the surrounding islands including the rest of Hawaii, New Zealand, and Japan. The festivities began on Sunday the 27^th of March and ended this past Sunday. The three nights of competition each with a different winner: Thursday - the Miss Aloha Hula, Friday – Group Hula Kahiko, and Saturday – Group Hula `Auana.

I have had the Merrie Monach Festival on my radar for months. I even tried to get tickets by mail back in January. Alas my efforts failed as I got a letter in reply stating that this year they received over 1700 ticket requests postmarked December 1^st.

I was disappointed that I had to work during most of the events; however, I did get a curbside seat for the 2-hour long parade! In the end I am glad I didn’t end up getting tickets. The competition was streamed live online starting at 6pm and running close to 11pm each night. I wouldn’t have lasted sitting in the auditorium for that long. Still it was a great event to experience and be a part of in the ways that I could. I leaned how much thought goes into each dance as the movements are beautifully crafted to tell a story. Each of the costumes was custom made just for this performance, with handmade designs to enhance the telling of the story.

I so, so enjoyed the two free shows I saw at the local hotels and completely ate up the opportunity to make my own lei! I couldn’t help but drink in the fragrance of those wonderful plumeria blossoms.