Really Small Things

My wife and I are planning on taking a vacation to Kauai this coming September. We’ve gone on vacation there quite a few times and absolutely love it...and why not, it’s a true taste of happiness!

We typically stay in a vacation rental home that either has a golf course view or an ocean view. The ocean views are breathtaking in Kauai where the water seems to be so much more spectacularly blue than anywhere else. The Makai golf course on the north shore is also spectacular with over a dozen ocean view holes and pristine white sand bunkers that are as pretty as the white sand beaches. Most of the rental homes come with surfboards, boogie boards, bicycles, and beach chairs, so you have all the things you need to enjoy this warm tropical paradise. Let me tell you, it’s such a great vacation spot that I found myself lying in bed last Saturday morning, just dreaming about being there.

But here’s the funny thing. When I woke up that morning and told my wife that I had been dreaming about Kauai, she asked me, “What’s your favorite memory of our vacations there?” I had to think about it for a while. I could have said, “Well of course it’s when we honeymooned in Kauai. Or I could have mentioned the time that I played 60 holes of golf on my 60^th birthday at Makai Golf Course. Or I could have picked our long romantic walks along gorgeous “Secret Beach”.  Or when we hiked over 5 miles on the Napali Coast Line to a secluded waterfall. There are absolutely dozens of memories I could have picked, but I got distracted with a phone call and never actually answered her question.

It just so happens, last Saturday my oldest daughter got married and headed off with her new husband to Hawaii for their honeymoon. While they were gone, my wife and I took care of her two small children. On Thursday they attended a camp at The Ocean Institute in Dana Point and afterwards we decided to walk around the nearby shopping center and look for an ice cream parlor. We walked around for quite a while before finally stumbling onto the perfect place. It’s called, “Lappert’s Ice Cream” and the reason it’s perfect is because it’s the answer to my wife’s question. My favorite memory of Kauai is when we would walk over to the North Shore Village and get a double scoop of Lappert’s Ice Cream in a waffle cone. I know, it sounds like a really small thing, compared to surfing, swimming, bicycling, golfing, and all that. But sometimes it’s the really small things that make the best memories. And let me explain why this memory is so special. Whenever I think about eating ice cream in Kauai, I picture my wife and I sitting on the block wall out front, holding hands, laughing, smiling and just, you know, being in love. And Thursday, as I watched my wife smiling at our grandkids with her cute little dimples, I fell in love with her all over again. And I learned something. Sometimes that taste of happiness you’re seeking is right there in your own back yard!

We do not remember days, we remember moments.

~ Cesare Pavese