blackrockbulletin: Adventures in Paradise 24

Adventures in Paradise 24

Kia orana, everyone! Our excellent adventure continues with some thoughts on what home feels like to us. Late last week, after the excitement of the tsunami threat had died down, I felt rather deflated. I was tired, but it was more than that. I felt an emptiness that I had not previously experienced. What had caused this change in temperament? I could not identify this new emotion, until I suddenly and with much clarity, realized that I was homesick. One would surmise that this homesickness might be caused by the absence of friends and family. But, although those people who are dear to me are always in my thoughts, I realized that I was missing the way home feels. Home for each of us is made up of bits and pieces. It’s a puzzle, that when put together, forms the background of who and where we are. There is a yearning for what feels comfortable to us. At this moment, I find that I am homesick for that feeling.

Gloves, sweaters, green shoots in the garden, tulips

A cold glass of milk, crunching autumn leaves, mountains, snow

Strawberries, parades, going for a drive, first signs of spring, lawnmowers

Football games, hotdogs and baseball, crowds, mailboxes

Laird Park on a Saturday morning, white eggs, walking to church, bathtubs

Boots, newspapers on the porch, brick houses, campfires

Saturday morning garage sales, live theater, hummingbirds, geese

Mountain air, eyeliner, the Sunday crossword, Aggie ice cream

Quilts and down comforters, ice crystals, pine trees, waiting in line

Decorated lampposts, sidewalks, Hires drive- in, fireplaces

Crickets, convertible rides, the American flag, geraniums

Crisp mornings, hazy October afternoons, pumpkins, boutiques

Goodies on the doorstep, phone messages, neighbors, friends and family

Long car trips, canyon streams, sounds of a skateboard, vanilla

Walks with a friend,” Dancing with the Stars”, old movies, popcorn

Swiss days in Midway, Peach days in Brigham, Onion Days, Days of 47

Well, I could go on, but you get the picture, or I should say, you get my picture. The simple act of writing everything down was very cathartic, and I enjoyed the process. Our lives are also made up of simple acts of kindness that become part of our puzzle as well.

Tonight, we invited a Fijian couple to dinner. We have been guests in their home several times and always they share their meal with us, or at least a cup of Milo. Eat!!! They have very little, but have always been very generous with what they did have and we wanted to return the favor. I was in the kitchen making preparations for a chicken-stir fry, when I noticed their car coming down the drive. They were early! That never happens here! Then I noticed Sarajh waving a dishtowel out of the car window, and shouting, “Stop, stop!” Moments later, Sarajh and her husband burst into the house bringing dinner with them. She had been calling for me to stop cooking. They felt that since we had come thousands of miles to serve them, the least that they could do was serve us dinner, even in our own home.

This is just one of many acts of kindness that we have experienced here on Rarrotonga. These simple gestures transform into more pieces of our puzzle. We seldom have to buy fresh fruit, as it simply shows up on our doorstep. Our six-going on seven-year old friend Elizabeth, wanted to have her birthday party on our veranda so that we could share her birthday cake. Fresh flowers miraculously appear at our home and we receive more dinner invitations than we can schedule. Friends wave to us as we pass on the road and everyone is always greeted with a kiss on the cheek. This little dot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has now become part of what we think of as home.

These simple acts of kindness have also been a way of life in our Salt Lake neighborhood. Neighbors take care of one another in quiet, thoughtful ways. I cannot count the number of loaves of bread or casseroles or treats that have crisscrossed our blocks. There are countless notes and phone calls of support when one is in need. There are offers of transport (whoops a Cook island phrase) and concerned friends when someone is ill. It is snow shoveled by an invisible helper or treats left anonymously on a doorstep. Home is all of this and more and it’s our pleasure to be part of this. We would not, for a moment, suggest that “our” neighborhood is unique, far from it. What we would suggest is that thoughtfulness exists everywhere and that your experiences have been much the same as ours. We are all better for having known each other. It makes us feel at home.

As always, we are happy and trying to work hard. You may not realize it, but you are all pieces of our puzzle as well. We cherish the role that you play in our lives. We would not be the same without you. You are part of what feels like home to us. We hope that you might take a moment and perhaps make a mental list of what home feels like to you as well. If you would like to share some of your thoughts of home, we would love to include them in our next blog. We can only hope that we are included on that list.

Love, Ward and Susan Elder and Sister Belliston serving in the Cook Islands

Our Rarotongan puzzle pieces.