The Hurricanes that Were Not

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

This weekend we were supposed to face our first - and second - hurricanes ever.  Iselle and Julio were supposed to follow the exact arc of our little island chain, and one after another, bring damaging winds, torrential rains, and dangerous surf.  Evacuation route maps were circulated.  Emergency shelter locations were announced.  There was a state-wide shortage of bottled water and SPAM.  (I'm not kidding.)  School on Friday was cancelled.  Dan was even sent home from work early on Thursday, and told to not return until Monday.  Seriously.  He got a "hurricane day" off from work.

Now, anyone from Joplin can tell you how devastating a tornado can be.  But I will say this.  At least a tornado doesn't require any planning or preparation.  I had a list of things I needed to accomplish around the house to be ready for the cyclone twins.  All the outside furniture had to be brought in or tied down.  A week's worth of bottled water and canned goods needed to be stored.  Bath tubs needed to be filled.  Tarps, candles, matches, playing cards, batteries, flashlights.  Anything we would need for a week with no electricity or running water.  I'm telling you it was exhausting.

And then God.  He cupped His hands around Hawaii and directed Iselle 100 miles south, and Julio 200 miles north.  The Hilo (east) side of the Big Island of Hawaii definitely caught some of Iselle, but there were only showers 30 miles away on west side.  Here on Oahu, Friday was windy with the occasional short rain shower.  It was actually kind-of a nice day.  Dan even went for a walk in the afternoon.  We never saw a cloud from Julio.

Dan.  My incredible husband.  Commander Dan Stanley of the USPHS.  I truly do not know how he does what he does.  Every day.  Did you know what his job was here?  He was the first person that an Army soldier would see if they were showing signs of mental or physical trauma to the point that it interfered with their performance.  Most of the time this was because of some indescribable horrors that the soldier had experienced.  Experiences from combat, or from an abuse while in the Army, in college, or in childhood.  Many times all of the above.  Dan's job was to listen and ask questions so that he could evaluate their condition and recommend them for the appropriate help they so desperately needed.  Day after day.  Another story.  Another person robbed blind of their peace.  He listened nearly every day for 2 1/2 years.  He is a rock made from some material that does not exist in me.

In January we began what we knew would be our last year in Hawaii.  The job was for 3 years, and at the end of 2014 Dan would have to start looking for a new assignment.  One more entire year of listening to trauma, and then a job search before Christmas.  The storm was in the forecast, and the winds were beginning to blow.  But God was already moving before us.  Even before we knew we needed Him to.

Soon Dan learned that all of the USPHS Social Workers on the island would be shifting into a new unit.  Dan would no longer be in-taking new soldiers and recommending them for treatments, but he would be one of the treatment providers.  This would mean direct therapy with these soldiers on a weekly basis.  Six sessions a day.  The most intense part of his job would now become it's entirety.  There would be no options or exceptions.  The second storm was imminent.

And then God.  He cupped his hands around our family and directed Dan into a Case Management job for the same new unit.  No more counseling, therapy or trauma.  With a flick of His finger He shifted the storm 100 miles to our south.  Then He moved in a way we never expected.  The change in positions here released Dan from the initial agreement to stay for the full 3 years.  He was free to look for a new assignment.  Through one storm He saved us from another, and sent it flying 200 miles to our north.

And then God answered our Mothers' prayers to bring their grand babies home.  Unbelievably, we are moving back to Springfield!  A position opened at the time when we needed it.  The timing, the position, the steps involved were only the handiwork of God.  From where we are sitting there is a thick forest with one single, clear, direct path where God has most certainly gone ahead of us.  And so we follow Him.  Just as we did when we moved to Hawaii.  And wherever He continues to lead from here we will follow.  For the storms and the paths He has cleared, we will follow.

Don't get me wrong.  You can expect a blog very soon on all of our favorite things here that we will desperately miss, just as soon as I can type it without whining or crying.  But maybe, just maybe, you can expect another about all of the things we are really looking forward to.

See you in September, MO.

The Stanley Take Back Missouri

We have been back to our MO Home for one month now.  We changed our watches.  We changed our wardrobes.  We are back.  Just in time for Fall.  We really missed Fall.  The kids, of course, had no idea what this “Fall” was we were speaking of.   They couldn't understand why on earth we were looking forward to it.  I assume they thought we were all going to fall down on the ground as soon as we got off of the plane.

I know what you are thinking, because we hear it every day. 

“Why in the world would you move from Hawaii to Missouri?!” 

“I bet it was like one long vacation.” 

“Do you miss the beach?” 

“Are you glad to be back?” 

To be honest, I have no idea how to answer any of those.  They are unfair conversation starters, because they expect a one or two word reply, and there is no way to summarize everything that is this transition into a one or two word reply.  So I will instead reflect on how our lives have changed.  I’m good at lists.  And what I mean by that is I am good at making lists.  They usually last about an hour until I lose them and forget they ever existed.  But for the purpose of this, the final blog post, a couple of lists will serve us well. 

    

List #1: Things that we did NOT do this week:

• We did not eat pizza on the beach.
• We did not rush to Costco to stock up on bottled water and toilet paper, because yet another hurricane threatened our island.
• We did not name the lizards that peeked at us from between the rocks.
• We did not have a coffee play date with our sweet friends.  (Will, Kohnnor, Milla and Kaia, we miss you and we talk about you every day!!)

• We did not worry that a 9" centipede would make himself at home in our living room.
• We did not vacuum 3 pounds of sand from our van.

• We did not receive a shaka from anyone.  Not.  Even.  One.
• We did not receive a random phone call at 3am.
• We did not check the surf forecast for North Shore for this weekend.
  
  
                         
• We did not watch the Waikiki fireworks from our loft.
• We did not eat a Leonard's malasada, a Bubbies' DDCCC in a waffle cone, a Matsumoto shave ice, or a Ted's fried rice special.
  
  
                                           
• No one saluted Dan.
• We did not simply stare at the ocean for any stretch of time.
  
                        
• We were not offered any SPAM at all.

List #2: Things we DID do this week.  Things that would never have happened in HI home:

• We wore socks every single day.
• We sang the phrase, "ain't nothin' more than a..." in a song at church.  (I mean seriously, Ozarks.  We can at least try to sound intelligent here.  I'm just sayin'.)
• We showed our kids a deer for the first time ever.  (They finally got to see the difference between a mongoose and a squirrel, too.)

• We bought a house!!  (For substantially less than $400/sqft!!)
• We watched the leaves change.

• We ran into people we knew at the grocery store.  (This sounds like a positive, but it actually  means that I'm going to have to start wearing make-up in public again.)
• We ate soup, like, 4 times.  And it didn't even seem strange.
• We got to smell the house after you turn the heater on for the first time.
• We celebrated birthdays with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas.
  
  
                                  
• We ate Sonic.  And Chic-Fil-A.  And Krispy Kreme.  And Andy's.  (And gained more weight than we care to mention.  Stop wondering if I'm pregnant again.  It's just all the Sonic.)

• We got to go to the Maple Leaf Parade in Carthage!
• We drove for over an hour in the car (and we were moving the entire time).
• We received a strange look when I accidentally told the cashier at Wal-Mart "Aloha," as she handed me the receipt.  (Yes, that really happened.)

We miss Hawaii, but not in the same way you miss the beach after a vacation.  Because it wasn't a 3 year vacation.  For a while it was "home."  "Home" because any place your children learn to talk, walk, ride a bike, open their Christmas gifts and write their names for the first time will always be "home."

Thank you.  Thank you for reading, for telling us you were reading, and for commenting on each post.  Knowing that you were reading along and experiencing Hawaii with us somehow made it feel like we were not quite so far away.  Thank you for coming with us on our Hawaiian Adventure.  It was wonderful to have you there.    

Aloha,

The Stanleys