Chi Chickory.

(Warning: long post, and lots of photos. Continue if you wish)

We (Me, Bryan, Oscar, Nana, Papa, Julia, Sammy) were all strapped into the seats of our rental van. The evening sun was casting a mystical glow across the open plantation fields that paralleled the road we were traveling on. It was our last day in Kauai, on a family trip that will be a hard one to rival.

We chatted about the many sea turtles and vibrant fish we swam with while snorkeling, and the breathtaking sights we had seen on the island. Every time you open your eyes it seems there is something beautiful to behold. We joked about if we thought our sunburned skin would peel or turn into a bronze tan, for some of us the latter was true. We thought about what our lives would be like if we could live there, and wondered if the magic of the island would still be as strong if it were more permanent in our lives than just a vacation destination. We were sad to leave, sad to be heading to the airport, but happy to have had this experience together. We were already making mental plans for the next time we could come. Hopefully it would be soon!

As the then 20 month old Oscar began to fuss in the back seat, we sang to him as a diversion. After we had made our way through all our regular soothing tunes, I asked my Dad about songs from his childhood, songs his parents had sung to him. He named a few we recognized, and then sang a simple little lullaby that his mother would sing when one of her children needed a calming distraction. The melody was sung from memory, and words went like this:

Chi chickory chi cho lah

Chocca lo, lo, lo

Nin-eh poo nan

Quarter eye dusky gone to pooh

Chocca lo lo in the china coo.

There in that rental car, with the golden Hawaiian evening streaming in through our windows, we sang that lullaby over, and over, and over. Until it was ingrained powerfully into each of our brains. Somehow singing that song allowed me feel connected to my father's childhood, and to Grandma Helen, my namesake who I never knew.

That little song is now sung regularly during bedtime in our home. In fact, I just sang it moments ago. It is interesting because every night that I sing it Oscar sits up in his bed, looks at me with his wide blue eyes, and exclaims, "Oh yeah! I want to go fly in the airplane back to there (referring to Hawaii) and play in the sand at the beach. Can we? With Nana and Papa, and Lula and Sammy too?" Naturally I assure him that, yes, we will go back there together one day.

I am continually amazed at how that particular song connects his young mind so vividly with that place, and with those people. I find it quite fascinating that sights, sounds, smells, tastes, etc., can prompt us to relive and reminisce in moments from our past. It is reassuring to me that our senses have the power to conjure up our memories and allow us to relive them from time to time. It brings comfort to my soul to know that these moments are never lost. Not for me, not for my children, not for any of us.

(This blog was started after that trip of March 2008.

So I included some, or many, photos to help us remember)