The Last 24 Hours Together

We've been waiting several long months for Jon and Sarah to arrive and suddenly we were at the last 24 hours before they were to leave.  How did three weeks fly by so quickly?

On Monday night we went to Palazzo Ristorante Italiano in Aiea.  They have the best bread appetizers.  Mom and I had Scallops Piccate and Art had calamari.

Sarah had a Clam Linguine and Jon had a chicken dish.  Everything was so rich and tasty.

When Jon and Sarah first arrived, they said they couldn't wait to eat some of their favorite food items.  They got to eat most of them during their visit:
1.  Shave ice
2.  Guava chiffon cake
3.  Dream cake
4.  Poke  (chopped raw fish in sauce)
5.  Grandma's lemon chicken
6.  Saimin (noodles)
7.  mochi
8. A Hawaiian plate lunch AND...
9.  Ted's chocolate haupia pie

On this last evening... on the way home from the restaurant, we picked up the pie and it was WONDERFUL!
 
Then there were a million things to do.  It amazed us how they could relax and enjoy talking and being with us and then start scrambling to do everything they needed to do before leaving.  This included Jon giving himself a buzz cut!  He didn't want to bother with his hair during their travels to South America.

The following morning, mom passed by him, stopped abruptly and did a double take.  She couldn't figure out how long-haired Jon could have gotten a haircut when she was with him at 8:00 the night before.

It's not my favorite look for him, but Sarah says she's used to it.  This is how he looked when he was a fire fighter at Los Alamos.

They ate blueberry muffins that I baked for them and had a leisurely breakfast.  Then came the scramble again of collecting their gear, repacking items, and weighing their packs.

I prepared lunches for them to eat on the flight to Los Angeles.

The strangest thing happened while I made their sandwiches, adding in some Big Island cookies and an apple.  Tears started to well up and everything became a blur.  I remembered making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for Jon's school lunch.  I actually felt a pain in my heart.

Jon and Sarah said their good-byes to grandma.  She reached up and gave him a hug.  That was a surprise!  Mom is starting to hug her grandchildren!

Jon said in two years, we should all go to Japan together with KC and have the four generations together.  It's something to dream about.

I was going to take a photo of their room when they were getting organized.  It was like a tornado had gone through.

However, when I remembered to get my camera an hour later, everything was neat as a pin.  Bedding was folded for the laundry.  The room was totally clean!

 

Too soon, it was time to go to Honolulu International Airport.  Jon is carrying the rather large lunch I packed for them. 

  "Dad?  How about doing SCUBA diving with us next time, hunh?"   

It was harder than usual letting them go this time.  They are on their way to L.A., then to Florida... then to Bogota, Columbia and then Ecuador.  They'll be spending time there learning Spanish before returning to the East coast in September where they will begin their graduate studies.

I found beautiful letters from each of them when we returned home from the airport with a gift card to take mom to Ichiriki restaurant since she was too ill to go the other night.

The house is so quiet!