LET US START WITH LEE

Everyone… Aloha!


I have not had the time to call any of you, I am so sorry. All my dear friends and loved ones, I would love to, I really would, but I just haven’t the time… but, there really is no time after all anyways, right... just the moment, the now… And let me tell you all, this moment gets better and better as we go!!!

Let me tell you about this journey of mine so far… After almost missing our plane, leaving Las Vegas… you know, I won the jackpot and was chosen at security to get my phone sampled… then on the way, you know me… I have to take pictures and we got to the gate just as they had already closed the plane up.

“Are you the Stone party of four?!” CODE RED CODE RED... bells, whistles… they stop the plane from any further departure action and the four of us make our way on the plane with our guitars and my purple hair.

Immediately after takeoff, the passenger on my left gets up and doesn’t come back... Wow, how nice is that!!! … I wonder… is he ill??? does he have a toddler in a seat on another row??? … Oh wells, beings that I had prayed to remember to walk around and keep my leg circulation good, (I just have recently regained feeling in my shins after flying three years ago to Oahu), I just took it as an answer to my prayers. Then as Dallen and I were all comfortably sprawled out sleeping, right before landing in Oahu, I wake up to this guy staring down at me. I open my eyes looking up at him and say all sleepily, “There you are. Where have you been?”

I readjust getting over in my assigned seat and he informs me he is a pilot… After flying I guess it is part of rotation to go under and they have beds for them to sleep… good to know.

We arrive in Oahu and wait three hours at the airport. There wasn’t much to check out at gate 50 in Oahu. We were waiting around to board the plane, getting bored of waiting to board the plane, and … good thing we were traveling with Chance, who was sick of waiting to leave gate 50 (that they are boarding from every hour or so)… because all four of us are ADHD and do not pay attention to overhead yapping… Chance just sensed it’s time to get, so let’s get, or else we would have missed this plane as well. We were the tail end of loaders on the plane once again.

We fly our little flight, land safely, then onto getting our eight gianormous suitcases. We haul our two carts across the road to catch a taxi. After three van tryouts to see how big this Stone party of four needed, we left the airport in a nice deluxe shuttle all to ourselves… only twenty bucks to my house from the airport! … (Well, that was the end of my cheaper than expectation moments.)

I use my smart phone to direct the shuttle guy to our new home. Thank God Kirah had taught me how to use this navigation feature, it is my Maui Bible. We unload out of the shuttle and admire our beautiful home that the landlord has lit up like a Christmas tree with all the windows open, (shutters that swing out all old fashioned style.) We think for a moment that we have the wrong place, it looks so occupied, music is playing… I go to the front door and am greeted by the warmest welcoming voice, my landlord, Lee.

Lee, what a character, that guy… he is the sweetest thing… a little strange, but you all know how well I adore strange. After showing us the house, he shows us the shower that is near the back and says, “This is the best room in the house.” … (and he wasn’t kidding, all three boys have had something to say after experiencing it.)

We all chuckle and get ready to go to the store because our blessed Lee can’t believe how this freshly divorced mother with these three boys is flying by the seat of her pants, winging it, willing to just camp out on the beach until she figured it out and figured she would just walk to the store… Lee offered us a ride to go get groceries. We get back and this wonderful character that I wish I had pictures of just comes on in like part of the family, gets a bottle of wine out of the fridge that he had there; asks Elden to open the bottle for him, (Lee got to witness how pure this kid is, Elden had to ask directions how); Lee pours himself a glass; sits at the tea party table in the kitchen; watching us put away our groceries. He turns on the kitchen radio and lamp; sitting sipping his wine; enjoying our presence of putting away groceries. We didn’t mind his peaceful sitting and sipping, and didn’t even notice him slip out the back. Strange, but whatever, we love the place and are happy to be here. We go to bed exhausted.

The next morning I am chatting on the phone with my mother, telling her how sweet this dear character Lee is. The boys chime in saying how amazing he is and then we start saying how I bet so many people judge him and fear him… (Mind you, the guy lives next door in the basement. He rents out this house and the house next door that he lives in. From the moment we arrive and took possession of the house, Lee has welcomed us so well to his home… for the next few days while we were first here, he has enjoyed that shower, remember his favorite room in the house… asking every time; He would come out every so often to rotate the sprinkler on the lawn in his underwear; he grows his hair out long on the sides so he can do the over comb in a forward action; he is very similar to a Gene Wilder character with the similar curly curly hair)… We are all going on how amazing this sweet man is.

My mother, who “knows” I am going to be meeting tall dark and handsome is all wondering, “this could be the one”… so we start explaining how he looks to my mother, with me saying, “He has a Bozo the clown like quality”.

Dallen says “No, he is like the Yang of Beetlejuice, you know, Beetlejuice being the dark bad, the Yin of it and Lee is like the good and the light of it but he looks like a nice Beetlejuice”.

After I get off the phone with my mother, we notice that lovely man Lee, on the porch under the windows hearing everything we said… Good thing we loved the guy!!!

But I put on that good ole oblivious act that I do so well, and sing out oh so sweetly, “Lee, there you are! What are you doing today? You been to church? Whatcha doing?” and I join him for a morning chit chat.

Come to find out, this dear sweet man is sweeter than we even knew. He is only living next door in the basement apt., where he grew up with his grandmother, when he comes to Maui. He has a job in Oahu and he is taking care of his mother who is 94… He grew up with his grandmother… there is a story there, some other time, but this man has never married, he didn’t want to become a pig farmer so he called off the marriage and never had children. I don’t know if he has any siblings, I am guessing not. But this Lee needs a family and we are so grateful to find family fresh off the boat.

So many more stories about this wonderful man, we can’t wait to see again, who I plan on taking pictures with.

Sunday night, I hear a car alarm going off so I went out to see and it was Lee leaving for the airport, “Lee, where are you going?”

“Time to go back, I left some things on the porch, if you don’t want or need them just throw them out if you could.”… That gracious good man, had left a bag of odds and ends that we were truly needing, AND he had in the bag a can of Dallen’s favorite flavor of Arizona Tea that he must have noticed Dallen drinking earlier.

“Oh Lee, you are the sweetest thing. I can’t believe you were going to just sneak off without saying goodbye.”

He chuckles at this, not wanting to be a bother, but loving the adoration.

I call the boys to come say goodbye and we all hug him goodbye.

I am so excited to be here. Maui has received us well. I am transfixed by the serendipities falling into place bringing the perfect people in my space like clockwork.

First thing Monday morning, two days after my arrival, I walk to open me a checking account at the same bank as Lee. I get chatting with the lovely bank lady, who loved chatting with me as well… she tells me, “You have such an Aloha spirit! You are special.” I thank her humbly and ask her name… “Virginia” she says… Folks, some of you may not know about my deceased grandmother, Virginia, who adopted my father. My sister was named after her, Toni Virginia. I have been told by multiple sources that my grandmother Virginia is thick in the space while Dallen and I are going through this transition… WOW… right?

Anyways, we realize, we need a car. We walk to a car lot and meet Sal who escorted me around allll dayyyy long helping me get insurance so I can take the car off the lot. During our day together, I hear his story. Wow, does he have a story to tell, and he plans on telling it. I share with him that I have written a book. I tell him how I did it, I tell him my journey of writing the book and that then led to his desire to have a copy… You never know what will come out of that… Come to find out… his wife works at Family Services here in Maui and I had just applied for a job there for a position to help single pregnant mothers KEEP their children.

And that leads me to Jeff & Darrin… which I must inform many of you that are not Stone family members… Steve, my past husband of 23 years has a brother, named Jeff. … Steve, Jeff & Darrin, their childhood friend that they had pretty much been raised with as a brother, were living on their own when I met Steve.

Well, I was sitting outside of Welfare Services to see what I qualify to receive… I barely pull out my book and this character my age with a Mohawk, (Jeff) says, “You have the most beautiful green eyes with that purple hair”… We get chatting and come to find out, he lives in some upcountry farm like an hour away and he hitchhikes to this Welfare center that is seriously in walking distance, like seriously around the corner from my house, which did I mention… I drove there!!! (It’s not as bad as it sounds, I went there on the way back from getting my car and the boys actually walked home.)

As we chitchat, I find out that his mother had died when he was 2. His grandparents adopted him, but his two brothers were left to fend for themselves at the ages of 9 & 10; their dad had abandoned them on the northeast side of Maui leaving them to raise themselves on the land. When Jeff was 7 his grandparents who adopted him died and then shortly thereafter he joined his brothers raising himself on the land… Darrin, which is spelled the same way, was a friend of the boys and brought them home to his house starting their brotherly bond. … Did I mention Jeff & Darrin were my two eye witnesses for my wedding with Steve???

Anyway, to make a very long story short… I tend to collect children, no matter their age and he tends to collect mothers. After he realized everyone adores me (not just him) and I adore everyone (not just him) and we are going to be great friends. We had an amazing day with him being our personal tour guide around the island. The boys had a great time; it seriously was like hanging out with their grandpa Randy, my father. So many more stories about Jeff & Darrin, those farmers that live in a wood building with 9 sides, all open… farming, surfing and playing guitar ALL day, every day…

I must say though, my favorite part about our driving around the island, jumping in fresh pools here and body surfing there, was meeting Shannon… the 56 year old surfer chic!!! Loved it, this beautiful woman, who is a grandmother to I don’t know how many surfer babies, has got around without a car for many years. We happened across her not once but twice while she was hitching for doctors appointments… I can’t even say hitchhiking, she was gracefully sitting on a cobblestone wall and Jeff pulled over and said “Hey Shannon where you going”… Shannon is Jeff’s neighbor who has been on the island since 1973 when she was 17… “A good age to come to the island and learn this way of life”… she informs Dallen when she hears he is 15… This bitchin grandma reminded me how bitchin I used to be… I used to say bitchin all the time, just like she was… she reminded me of that bitchin Cali surfer chic I myself once was. Quite a day, quite a week, quite an adventure all ready!!! 
                                 
 
Coming here has been a total blessing. It has been scary to let everything I know go and trust in God…


The eve before we flew out of Vegas I had returned a text from my first born son (who I had placed in adoption out of total ignorance which I have grown very wise on the subject because of)… “I know I’m a wreck and make things hard… Again, I’m sorry I have stepped back and distanced myself again. You know how it is… I either suffocate you, or am out of the picture… I look forward to life being simpler… I’m sure with this next move of mine I will find it, and be content with all my relations because I have totally stepped out of the box and am now living in the moment where there are no expectations just enjoying the now and happy to be here. I am excited to let my strong motherly nurturing instinctive behavior be let loose on Hawaii to mother all God’s children young and old… I have always been told who I can nurture, mother and love, starting at 16 and when I married Steve, the restriction was still there, understandably so, but like I said, I can nurture and love 100% every person who comes into my space, not having to hold back when I want to extend… being free to not have to care, be, do, what anyone else thinks or wants.”… Let go and Let God… and folks, he has not failed me.

Love to all of you guys. I wanted you all to get the details of what’s up. I look forward to hearing from every one of you. Make sure you all let me know when you are in my neck of the woods.

Lots of Love, Keri

"23"

Well folks, we have arrived!!! Dallen and I said goodbye to the house, Kirah, the dog and Steve on Friday the 13th… July 13, 2012 My daughter Kirah was not interested leaving all of her friends in Utah to go start a new life in Hawaii with Dallen and me. She arranged to move in with my sister Toni… Makes sense, we are always swapping children, helping one another raise these children of ours. My nephews, Chance & Elden, had been living with me for a while and had no intentions (so they thought) to join us on our journey… they loved the sounds of it… they kept saying …“if only this” or “if only that“… BUT the night before we were to roll out of here they both pretty much said they couldn’t see themselves NOT going. So at the last minute, literally, they were packing for Hawaii. I sold my 67 Mustang and got the money to start over. Steve always hated this Mustang of mine. He was always a Camero Chevy guy. Steve thought it was such a money pit but once we spent the whopping $35,000 and restored it from the ground up, this beauty (Betty) of mine purred and was pretty low maintenance. I drove her as my everyday car. Over the years Steve has tried to get me to sell Betty, she was my only asset I had brought into this marriage and I was not going to give her up. I would always say, “I won’t sell that car until I need to provide a roof over my head”.

Well, that time had come… My dear husband of 23 years whom I married on July 23rd, two years after we had lost our first born son to adoption that was born on December 23rd, and he then blessed me with an opportunity to practice what I preach, “Love One Another ‘Adopt’ the Mother”, (he had a midlife crises and brought in my space, a little girl, born on January 23rd.) Steve could not numb his pain good enough to ignore the loss, shame and guilt of losing not only our son to adoption, but another son 6 months later, he just couldn’t get off of that record player and I finally was able to walk away with no bitterness towards him… Wow… Do you see all the 23’s in this story? Not to mention that Betty’s odometer stopped working on 23000 miles… Interesting… what does 23 mean??? … Well, according to Doreen Virtue, whom I love and admire… 23… means… “You are working closely with one or more ascended masters such as Jesus, Moses, the saints, or the goddesses. This is a message from your ascended master guides, who can see that the answer to your prayers is within reach. They encourage you to stay positive to ensure that you attract the best possible outcome… “ Well, I must say… Yep… that about sums it up in a nutshell, right? lol. I most definitely have finally reached that best possible outcome that I obviously attracted by staying positive!!! HELL YA, PRAISE THE LORD, JESUS, MOSES, THE SAINTS AND THE GODDESSES!!!