MARGARET DILLOWAY

We drove to Kahala today, looking for beach access. My friend Sasha, whose husband was stationed here a few years ago, gave me her old Oahu map and there are some helpful notations on it, such as BEACH ACCESS. We found it right where she had marked it, in between two rows of fancy homes. …

We finally got out of Miss Havisham’s house after the Mold Guy came by. Though he was unable to share the results with me, he did have a moisture-measuring device that BEEEEEEPED like a dying patient every time the moisture level was too high.  Needless to say, I couldn’t help but see what the machine…

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Best because we were FINALLY going to go see Daddy. Worst because we had to leave behind the oldest kid (only for a couple of weeks, so she can finish school while staying with the grandparents) and Los Gatos, who had at least…

I am packing and unscrewing pieces of toys until my fingers ache, hoping my husband will find us a place to live. Granted, it’s not been easy for him.  He finally rented a car on Friday and looked at a few places.  We had talked about criteria, which apparently left his head immediately. Cadillac: “I…

I read about how to make hotdog “squid” a while ago, and decided to make it along with some hotdog octopi. My son loves eating real squid and octopus, so he was all about eating hotdog ones. For some reason, the kid won’t touch fruit but he’ll nosh on a piece of raw chewy octopus…

I just showed Kaiya a small toy plane and said, “Oh, let’s pretend we’re flying to Hawaii.” She said, “That’s not a plane, it’s a jet, and we can’t fly on a jet because there are no seats or seatbelts.” Oh. She was right. It WAS a jet.

The kids feel it, too. The little girl had the most trouble adjusting, arising each night between midnight and one to seek out her daddy and wake me up. She’d turn on the light and say, “I gotta talk you, Mom, ’bout Disneyland,” and try to get in bed with me. Sigh. I told her…