CAROLYN LUCAS-ZENK

KAILUA-KONA RESIDENT & KONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

PHOTO ONE: It's funny to write, but I can already feel myself looking back at this photo, 20 or 30 years from now, longing for this moment. Well, minus the pandemic. Like many, this health crisis has turned my ohana's routine completely upside down. Working from home with our very energetic, daredevil 3-year-old son and our equally rambunctious, sidekick escape artist Jack Russell, without access to preschool, play dates, babysitters, and even grandparent dates is quite an adventure. Some days, everyone deserves to walk the plank or to experience the magic of sailing far faraway from COVID-19. On those days, when trouble or boredom or stress seemed to be a brewing, I will always remember when we charted a different course. Instead, we chose to go outside and play. We chose each other.

PHOTO TWO: This place is magic and even now so during quarantine life. My ohana has always had a garden, thanks to my amazing husband and his many talents. It is beautiful to slow down and spend so much time together here. We take a walk around these garden beds every day and these plants bring us more than just a delicious bounty. In this peaceful, growing and constantly evolving space, it reminds us to pause and stay grounded in the present. Listen. Touch. Smell. See. And if we're lucky, taste or share.

PHOTO THREE: What I hope my son remembers most about this time together is that we did our best — surrounded by love, still connected to the people, things and our communities dear to us, healthy and safe in our home filled with extra hugs for those both big and small.