Post Maui Blues

Those of us who live in a place where a sunny day is cause to celebrate and get outside find it hard to imagine places where a shining sun is the norm -- and expected!  My husband and I just spent ten glorious days on the island of Maui and I found it comical to watch us -- and others like us -- as we headed for that island.

As much as we would like to start out (and return) from such a trip in shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals, we must begin and end our travel in multiple layers of clothing.  For me that means a silk camisole under a t-shirt under a turtleneck under a fleece, a scarf, a pair of jeans and warm socks and shoes.  The trip to the airport and back home must be kept in mind, as well as the freezing temperature in many airplanes.

Upon arriving at our warm destination, however, we stumble out into the blazing sunshine, amazed and now beginning to believe that 80 degrees is really 80 degrees.  We start frantically taking off layers, changing into our lighter-weight clothing in the rental car parking lot, baring our pasty bodies to a suntanned populace.  A roomy sundress over my head allows me to strip off the unnecessary layers without wasting time in a restroom pawing through my suitcase.  Sunglasses, visors, sandals, shorts, tank top, how can this be possible?  We are in a hurry, anxious to get to our destination so that we can begin to play in the hot sun.  It takes only a few hours to realize that most of the clothes we brought along are actually too warm to wear in this glorious Camelot!  I wore the same two loose dresses most of the ten days, usually with a swimsuit underneath, ready for any eventuality. 

At the end of our ten-day visit, we sadly leave the sunshine behind, returning to freezing weather and a dusting of snow.  SNOW!  Already the memory is fading, but even as the snow falls and the temperature plummets, I can close my eyes and remember that somewhere in the world it is warm.

Upon returning last year about this time from Kauia, I resurrected a poem I had found years ago after a trip to another sunny island.  I repeat it here.

If Once You Have Slept On An Island

If once you have slept on an island
You'll never be quite the same;
You may look as you looked the day before
And go by the same old name.

You may bustle about in street and shop,
You may sit at home and sew,
But you'll see blue water and wheeling gulls,
Wherever your feet may go.

You may chat with the neighbors of this and that
And close to your fire keep,
But  you'll hear ship whistle and lighthouse bell
And tides beat through your sleep. 

Oh! You won't know why and you can't say how
Such a change upon you came,
But once you have slept on an island,
You'll never be quite the same.
 -- Rachel Field