Week 2

Week 2 

Sorry for the late post but life caught up with me this week and I couldn't find the words for Sunday's post until today. It is not everything I wanted to say but it is all I could. Thank you for continually following along. I keep going because of you and therefore I am blessed that I will have writings of all my adventures. 

Monday

    Today I started my day off with zoom orientation for the health system. The only thing good about it was the two hour break to work on assignments. I did them when I was in quarantine so I had two hours of free time. Well the water called me so I went to the beach. I can’t believe I can do that. Just casually go to the beach on my lunch break. After all was said and done, I went on my first solo hike! Koko Head is a set of railroad ties that work as stairs up the side of a ridge. I thought it wasn’t too bad at first but I was wrong. I almost threw up on the climb, while there were super fit people running past me. These people were literally running up the trail. I was praying that the view was worth it. My prayers were answered when I turned around at the summit. It was breathtaking.  I started a conversation with some of the crazies that ran it weekly or sometimes fore than once a week. We ended up talking for over an hour and they showed me the views from the back of the trail. Sky and Dagan are in the air force and stationed here.  Well now I have more friends to do hikes with! It’s odd how easy it is to make friends here. The people are so friendly. They are either locals wanting new friends or people new to the island and are in the same boat as me. I could definitely get used to this. I think the decent was harder than the climb up. Going down, you needed to make sure you didn’t eat dirt. There is one point where you have to step from tie to tie and its suspended in the air. That one I started praying my Hail Mary’s. I actually prayed the prayer to St Joseph at the beginning of the way down because if I was going to die I wanted Jesus to “return the kiss as I drew my dying breath”.  Here’s the whole prayer if you don’t know it.  

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.

Oh St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your divine son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, our Lord; so that having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

Oh St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss his fine head for me, and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen

    He had my hand the whole time and I didn’t end up tumbling. That was a feat in and of itself for me. At the end of the hike my legs were shaking. When I tried to press the car pedals my legs kept quivering and almost locked up. Thankfully, I made it home safely. My body might hate me for it but I want to do that hike once a week, just to get better at it. Who knows maybe next time I won’t feel like upchucking. 

Tuesday: 

    I got a text this morning asking if I could come in for four hours tonight. I was scheduled for an orientation that I already completed, so they just gave me extra hours. Well a surprise 4-hour shift is better than a 12 hour one. Also going in later gives me time to go to the ocean before. I started my morning, reading on the beach. It’s a book titled The Seven Levels of Intimacy. I first heard of this book during an online conference this summer. It’s about the types of relationships you have in your life. One of the first quotes that struck me was “The first step toward intimacy with others is intimacy with self.”  No one takes the time to sit down with themselves and be honest. When I finally looked in the mirror and stopped lying to myself, that’s when I started growing by leaps and bounds. It wasn’t easy or quick because I lied to myself about my worth for years. When I accepted my flaws and decided to take my struggles and grow instead of wallow, I started becoming the best version of myself. Now I will speak my mind, because I know my voice is worth being heard. The start of the book really discussed this point of accepting your flaws and not being ashamed of them. Building off them and strengthening ourselves where we are weak, helps become the best versions of ourselves. Relationships are supposed to help us be the best version of ourselves, if they don’t, then there is no point of continuing that relationship. This is how we should view both a friendship and a romantic relationship. As I was reading this, I was thinking about the people who push me to be the best person I could be. Those are the people I continue to have in my life because this is the only life I am given and I need to make the most of it. Sorry! I went off on a tangent because that is the way my brain works. Anyways, back to my daily adventures.    

In the afternoon I went out with my neighbor, Allen, and one of his friends, Jojo, on paddle boards. She didn’t know how to swim so that gave me a heart attack in and of itself. She had a lifejacket, but who chooses to go out on the ocean without knowing how to swim? Better yet, who lives in HAWAII without knowing how to swim? I was a little stressed out at first but then the water took all my cares away. The pictures definitely speak for themselves. I love being out on the water. I may need to invest in a paddle board so I can do this whenever I want. I hope to always be in awe with the opportunities God blesses me with. Sadly, we had to turn around after a few hours and I had to get to work. Four hours in the hospital went by in a jiffy and then I headed home. I spent part of the night just hanging out and at 0230 I was able to wish my dad a happy birthday! I caught my parents before they headed to work and I headed to bed. We shall see what tomorrow/today brings!

Wednesday and Thursday

Sleep, eat and work. That sums up those two days. I will say though eating on the beach during sunset is not the worst thing in the world.

Friday

    After work last night I took a few hours to sleep and then had the afternoon to go explore! Joseph and I went to Electric Beach to go snorkeling. The water was so clear! When I went to dive down to the reefs I kept getting out of breath and my ears kept popping. The water was so clear that depth wasn’t fathomable. Snorkeling is something else. I love being able to have my face in the water and still be able to breathe!  Joseph apparently saw a turtle as we were getting out of the water but then it “disappeared”. Burgers and milkshakes by the harbor was a great way to end the day. side note: i still need to figure out how to upload videos. That was the best part of snorkeling! 

At night I went out to the beach to look at the stars. The stars out on the beach are ridiculous! It reminded me of the nights in college when we used to go out to Dauphin Island to look at the stars. With those stars He made me fall more in love with Him and creation. He’s constantly there showing us of His love, we just need to let our hearts and eyes be open to it. As I was sitting there, I saw a blue florescent speck in the sand. I thought it was just the light reflecting off of the sand. As I got closer I saw that it wasn’t the light but bioluminescent plankton. There weren’t waves of them, like in some places, but there were some on the shore. I cant believe things like that exist. You see it in movies or you read about it, but I never thought I would see it in person. Just another blessing of Hawaii. 

Saturday

    Mornings that I have to work, I love laying on the beach. It is time for me to relax and just be. It’s a time for personal development but also time to spend with God. I am a very schedule orientated person, but this carefree free time is exactly what I need to get recharged and ready to face the day. An afternoon nap and a 12hour night shift is how I ended my day. 

Sunday

    I’ve been having a hard time finishing this blog because today was not a good day. Traveling is wonderful until you’re far away from home during the big things. Today my little Paco passed on to a better place. When grief strikes, it’s hard not to be with people going through the same struggle. I know that people are just a phone call away but it’s not the same. I wish I could put into words what that dog meant to me but my eyes get all blurry when I try. When I woke up to the text that he was gone, I prayed for comfort, even if it was just for that day. Don’t get me wrong, any thought of him would turn on the waterworks but God filled my day so that I wasn’t alone and in my thoughts. Joseph and I had previously made plans to go to the North Shore to go snorkeling. I forced myself out of bed and just kept focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. 

   The North Shore right now is in the peak of surfing season so I looked at the surf report and told him that I thought the swells were too high. Him being a man and all, said that the cove we were going to would be protected by the rocks and we would be fine. Ha Ha Ha. I was right. I don’t claim to know everything but I do research before going places because I don’t want to look like a dumb tourist. God still got me with the dumb tourist jab, when we were walking on the rocks and a extra-large wave came came crashing down and knocked us down. I promise we weren’t right next to the edge and all the other moderate waves didn’t reach where we were standing so it seemed safe. We played with crabs in the tide pools and had tacos from food trucks next to the beach. I cannot believe people grow up like this and this is their reality. I know it’s my reality for now but I see it more like a working vacation, not a home. At the end of the day I thanked God for the peace he gave me. I don’t think it will truly hit me that Paco is gone until I go home and he is not there. Words are not my strong suit at the moment so you’ll just have to live vicariously through my pictures.