Transitions (written by Kim)

Our son is turning 4 this Thursday. I keep asking myself---how did that happen? Cliche, yes! But, it does happen so fast. And I have two years of photos to print and six months of video to upload. Gonna be pulling some late nights.

Once we get a steady stream of electricity that is.

We left Oahu with a commitment--to be authentic. It was not the outer geography of the destination that was important, but rather, the inner geography of the soul. Thank you for following this journey with us. These past few months have been filled with a lot of questions, a lot of discussions, a lot of confusion and finally a lot of clarity.

HERE IS WHAT WE ARE CLEAR ABOUT:

1. We value community. And although you can call on your friendly neighbors up on the land, the nearest one is a mile away and no one in our vicinity has kids. Our dear friends were originally going to be living on the property next to ours, but their plans changed and now, so have ours.

2. Our son is a city kid and I admit it---so are we! In our great desire for authentic, suck the marrow out life experiences, moving to an off-grid cabin in the woods with a toddler in tow ranks pretty high on the scale of raw and juicy. Contrast brings clarity. And we are clear now that we love on demand electricity, refrigeration and toilets that don't need dumping. You also know of my husband's deep affection for hot showers and ice.

What does Bodhi want to do in his free time?
Walk in our abundant woods? No.
Run around on our huge "lawn"? No.
Get dirty? No.

He wants to see his friends. He wants to go to the astronomy center, the ocean center, the playground or the zoo. He wants to go to Aunty Karen's house and so do we.


Here are some recent gem's from Bodhi:
-"Mom, do you know what I'm going to dream about tonight?"--"Flush Toilets."

-"Mom, we need smooth roads, not bumpy ones. And a gate that opens easy."

-"Dad, I want county water."
(While in the bath, Andrew told him not to blow bubbles with the catchment water--he could do that at Aunty Karen's house because she has county water)

-Andrew:
"Kim, the block ice is melting faster in the cooler now that it's warmer. It only lasted 4 days. We gotta go to the store today."
Bodhi:
"Dad, you just need to get a refrigerator. That'll fix it for you."


Our long term plan for the land was to build a very comfortable homestead---but I ask you, how long shall we wait for comfort? And when will the community come to our 9.26 acres?



3. We love Hilo. It's the perfect town for us. It has character and charm. It has good local restaurants and Starbuck's. It's not too fast---not too slow--it's just right.


4. We love to work together and we love to write. We have been tossing around income producing ideas for months. Searching for just the right authentic vehicle. Desiring to answer Andrew's mom's favorite question, "But, how you goin' live!?"

We jumped, knowing the net would appear. We thought that net was the land and all the opportunities for growth held in it's forested arms, but now we know the land was the way the universe got us to come home. We would have never moved back to the Big Island without it. And we remember our dear friend, Lois, telling us once---"The Big Island is nice....you should move back there."

We listened Lois. The land was not our net, but rather our springboard. We leave it's beautiful potential to it's next steward. We leave it grateful for the gifts it has given us. Our family is truly grateful for the simple things and will always value living simply and lightly on the earth. I know that makes Lois proud.

So what is that income producing activity? Freelance Commercial Writing. Check out our website: www.prunecopywriting.com


HERE IS THE PLAN:

-We have listed the land for sale and we know that the right person will buy it at the right time.
-We have launched our copywriting business with passion and gusto
-We are making future plans for a move into Hilo town
-We are grateful for the cabin we live in and plan to stay there until the right time to move becomes clear
-We continue to stay authentic and true to ourselves

As you adjust your sails, the geography may change along the journey, but the destination is always the same--home, to yourself.


Our first ever blog entry---Andrew wrote, "I'm going to the woods because I, like Thoreau, wished to live deliberately." Even Thoreau moved back to the city. I am glad we are in good company.



(For you Dear Darrell S.---thank you for the gentle nudge to write. We've been wanting to for awhile)