Mothers and Daughters

The theme for the last few weeks is “Mother/daughter”--not surprising since my mother helped me build this beautiful retreat in paradise.
First, Cat Gwynn came for an 8 day visit to heal from the loss of her mother/family and more recently, her brother-in-law. Her new photo book (with fantastic quotes and stories about her mother), Hungry: The Insatiable State of America, is GREAT! Someone from the Northwest dropped by and immediately wanted to know about the book that is in search of the right publisher. He made a suggestion that Cat is following up on.
So who checks in while Cat is here? Greta, who just turned 90, and her daughter, Kim. They all have a ball together. We celebrated with a turkey dinner, all feeling very much like family.
Cat took some classic photos of mother/daughter at Hookena Beach. They only stayed 4 days but it felt that we were old friends by the time they left.
Next: A single mother with her adopted daughter, Sophia, from China--just turning 10 years old. A highlight of that visit was when Cat and Sophia got the giggles while Phoenix was playing his guitar. He made up a song--kept using the word “laugh”. Each time he said “laugh” they would peal into hysterics. Cat took photos of Amie and Sophia making the jade vine lei.
When they left, Laura arrived from Chicago to recuperate a bit from dealing with her mother having cancer in the 4th stage. She and science fiction thriller author of Shadows in the Mist, Brian Moreland, helped me gather plumeria (the funeral flower) for Cat to use while releasing some of her mother’s ashes at sea.
Laura began to cry when I mentioned about it being like a “dress rehearsal” for her. Cat held her and gave her words of encouragement. Cat’s experience has deepened her compassion and increased her timber.
Laura has a story she says she wants to write when she gets home. She was told to find Michael at Hookena and ask him to sing a song for her. Sure enough, that happened! I will share the story when she writes to me.