Arrived in Maui for the first time since 1985, the year Mom, Dad, El, Eric and I came to visit before moving to Malaysia from Virginia. In my memory, Maui was paradise. It looked and felt just like I’d imagined it would from TV and magazines. I remember everywhere you drove, you could see the ocean, the coastline lush with tropical plants and so many varieties of palm trees. The ocean, I experienced then, was power. Waves that could flip you onto the sand if you weren’t paying attention, and the crystal blue water that went on forever to the horizon. The last day on the sand back in 1985, I stared out at the sea and said to myself, “I’ll be back.” Took 29 years and Mom’s good idea to get us all back to Maui. This time I’m an adult and a surfer and married to Max. M&D are retired. El has A. Eric has S and M. Time flies. Somehow, I’d like to think my kid-self would be amazed at all the things I’ve done since then. And, I still feel like who I was when I was a kid. No regrets and a lot of aloha. Grateful.