Miss Jennifer reported that my son was rather out of sorts today at school.

He had a hard time separating this morning, wanting me to stay with him and cuddle him. It may have been because it was rainy and dreary and he was all bundled up to withstand the weather, but more likely it was because it was only his second day back at school, back to real life where he goes away for a few hours most days and I go back to working. I picked him up at 12:30 p.m. and managed to get him to sleep for an hour.

We found out yesterday that we dodged a bullet a couple of months ago when we chose Hidden Treasure Nursery School for Lucas. The other major contender for our business just closed. Another one closed! I can hardly believe it. That’s three Waldorf preschool closures in Fair Oaks in 5 months. Unfortunately, it seems the owner of that school is very ill. Several new children have joined Lucas’s preschool, so there were new faces there today both when I dropped him off and picked him up. Maybe the mommies are cool. That would be nice.

Maui was, in a word, wonderful. We all had such a marvelous time there.

Mom and Dad paid our way, except for a few groceries and a few meals while we were there. We never would have been able to make the trip without their generosity. That’s something my parents have in spades, and I’ve been the grateful recipient of their loving support my whole life.

Jonathan’s girlfriend, Courtney, was beautiful and fun, down-to-earth and smart. I’m impressed by the way he treats her and she, him. They have a very comfortable way about them: no nervousness, no great efforts to impress each other or the rest of the family.

Lucas fell in love with Courtney just as I predicted–except he won’t say her name. He has renamed her “Bou” and, fortunately, she doesn’t seem to mind. She was so patient with him; she played his reindeer games, accepted her new moniker, and maintained a cheerful attitude throughout the trip. Lucas’s jokes aren’t what you’d call sophisticated, but Courtney graciously laughed each time.

Mom and Dad bickered and poked at each other as usual, but they also had lots of fun together too. They have such an odd way of relating. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen another couple relate to each other the way they do. They are still really into each other, despite their frequent jabs and taunts.

So, our lazy Hawaiian days were full of swimming, playing in the sand, shopping, eating, lounging, napping, site-seeing, scuba-diving, reading, etc. The weirdest part was stopping at Costco immediately after getting off the plane and getting our rental cars: Dad wanted to lay in some supplies for the week, such as beer, booze, and beef. We had a number of terrific meals out, and ate breakfast, some lunches, and a few dinners at our condos. Each couple got some alone time too. Mom babysat Lucas while the rest of us went diving.

My folks rented three condos right next to each other on the northwest coast of Maui, at a place called Napili Point. We had a small shared yard that was fenced in, so Lucas could run around and move from condo to condo without, for example, falling off a cliff into the ocean. Needless to say, the setup was ideal.

The first few days were a little cooler than usual, but still lovely. It rained a little bit every day, especially up near Napili Point where they tend to get a little more weather. We saw many rainbows. It warmed up near the end of our week there. The town of Lahaina was always a little warmer than Napili.

I had a little trouble with my left ear while diving. I ended up with an earache and elected not to go on the second boat dive. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get to maximize the awesome diving opportunity (I’m too old for cold Monterey Bay diving anymore), but I figured it would be better not to hurt the whole week. Besides, for the second day of diving, they all went out to Molokini and reached a depth of 80 feet. I think I likely would have gotten stuck at 40 and been miserable–for the next few days. Benedryl will be my best friend next time: I think I’ll start dosing several days before flying out there.

That’s not to say that we know when we’ll be going back again, but I can tell you, I can’t wait. Island time is a lot like slipping into Burning Man time, without the fucking dust storms. I’ve been to Hawaii four or five times now–three times with Ian (and the Merkels–never just the two of us alone and all romantic-like). Every time I go, I look around and realize that people actually live there. Real people. People with jobs and families and lives. People who are not on vacation actually call the island their home. Then I wonder, why the hell don’t I live there? I usually spend the next six months wondering why the hell we don’t live there. If you wonder that enough times, do you eventually come to do something about it?

These last few days at home here in Fair Oaks had led us to do some Internet searching. I wonder what it would take for us to move to Hawaii. I know these three things:
1. Kids with Autism live in Hawaii
2. I can freelance from anywhere in the world that has high-speed Internet
3. There are 3 Waldorf schools in the Hawaiian islands (Maui, Big Island, and Oahu)

What are we waiting for?

Man, it requires a lot of reading to catch up with all of you!
Happy belated birthday to Mars, Tshuma, and Tish-Tash.
Dakini, I’m so sorry to hear Taf passed away. Thank you for looking after our home while we were gone.
Pirategrl, sorry about your job.
Congratulations, FLC. You rock.
Grlfury, damn your mom! She has no idea what she is wasting with you.
Parnasus, I didn’t get your vm til middle of today. Sorry I couldn’t babysit.
Chilipantz, I know you will find the right path.
Love to all of you (and all those I didn’t mention here). We missed our friends.

We arrived home last night at around 10:30. We are safe and happy. Had a fabulous time in Hawaii. I’ll have to write about it soon, before the memories of it fade. It already seems kind of dreamlike and super-sunny and unreal.

Lucas is a super traveler. I am so proud of how he dealt with being away from home, sleeping in a strange bed, airports, swimming in the ocean, etc. He was a trooper and I’m very proud he’s my son. Ian is gorgeous, tan and off work today. 🙂

We have exciting plans for today like picking up the mail, shopping at Costco, returning an overdue library book, and doing mountains of laundry…

Oh, and planning our move to Hawaii.

OK, we’re not really heading to Maui until Thursday.

We’ll be there 7 glorious days. Fsck the rain, Fsck the clients, Fsck the kids with autism! We’re taking a break!

My generous parents are taking us with them on their yearly pilgrimage to the land of perpetual scuba diving, the land of warm weather in the depths of winter, the land of rainbows and tacky shirts. They’re also taking my brother and his girlfriend. I am so lucky to have parents like mine.

Here’s some stuff that I’m pretty sure will happen:

* We’ll go diving at least two days. These will be boat dives, where the dive masters deal with all your equipment, act as tour guides, let you hold the octopus, and then lift your heavy gear off you before you climb back into the boat. Coffee, sandwiches, and a good time will be had by all.

* We’ll bicker like always. Mom will teach Lucas to say at least one “bad” word, probably more. Mom cusses like a sailor.

* My brother will bait my mother at every possible opportunity; she will bite every time

* I will try to knit a hat; it might be too warm to knit a hat

* Lucas will fall in love with Courtney (the girlfriend who looks like Sandra Bullock, only cuter); he may challenge his uncle to a duel for her hand

* If our new camera arrives tomorrow, we’ll take lots of pictures

* It will take me about 8 hours to forget I even work for a living; that’s how easily I slip into island time

The laws governing this country are exceedingly complex. That probably sounds like a no-brainer statement. I’ve been proofing a textbook about criminal evidence lately. I used to think there was a sort of giant 10-foot-tall, leather-bound volume of Federal Laws and one equally giant volume for California Laws. The fact is criminal law is based to a tremendous degree on the enormous cumulative body of case law. I’ve learned a lot of things:

1. TV law and real law are not the same things
2. If you are arrested, ask for an attorney. Also, make clear statements like “I am not waiving my rights.”
3. Do not answer any police questions before getting/speaking to your attorney; if you do, you have effectively “waived” your rights
4. There’s a tricky thing about property and “curtilage.” This is an area of your property from which police may or may not (depending on specific circumstances) be able to observe your activities in your home and your possessions without a search warrant and without probable cause
5. Any driver using the road in any state has effectively waived his/her right to refuse drug/alcohol testing if the police have probable cause and wish to test you. You basically can’t say no
6. Your boss can search your work area, desk, computer, without a warrant or probable cause. Your boss can’t search your personal possessions, such as a purse, briefcase, coat pockets, etc., without risking a law suit
7. If you’re in police custody or in a police car or station, do not discuss illegal activity with anybody but your lawyer. You are being filmed and tape recorded and such conversations are generally admissible evidence in court
8. Shoeprints, footprints, tire prints, bite marks, lip prints, palm prints, and all that CSI trace evidence stuff is really used to apprehend and convict people (I didn’t know about lip prints)
9. There are many exceptions to the search and seizure rules designed to protect your constitutional rights and limit police power/abuse including: emergency, public safety, plain view, hot pursuit, juveniles on school property or active in extracurricular activities, etc.

I have read lots of cases where “bad guys” got off because of police mistakes or misconduct, despite overwhelming evidence of their guilt (such as a confession). I have also read lots of cases where people were wrongfully charged and convicted. And many others where I would have thought the defendant would get off because of infringement of constitutional rights, but didn’t because of some allowed, justifiable “exception.”

Disclaimer: If you have questions, get a lawyer. I do not pretend to understand all of this stuff. I am now very glad I never considered going to law school.

New Year’s Eve was a stormy day and night. We were mellow and stayed home all day.

Blue and Heather arrived in the late afternoon to discuss their wedding ceremony. Ian and I will be performing it for them next fall, and they were in town to meet with Tate, who will be doing the photos, and Kimkim, who is their Organizer, I think. It was a nice time talking with them and I think that this wedding is going to be fun.

Although we tried to get Lucas to take a nap, he resisted. It meant that he really stayed up very late even thought we didn’t make it all the way to midnight. The Bennetts had a party in their new home, mere blocks from here. It was mellow and fun. They have so much space now! I’m excited for them. The kids ran around like crazy monkeys. It didn’t really seem to cramp anyone’s style too much, however. We got to see dakini_grl, pirategrl, Bennetts, Tate, Elisa, Matt, Jen, Justin, Monica, Zindelo, and some of Parnasus’s friends, whom we have met once or twice before. We left the party at about 11:30 pm, and Lucas went right to sleep at home as soon as I began to rock him. He was a trooper; I didn’t think he’d last that long. I’m grateful we got him home to bed before a serious, five-alarm meltdown could begin. Ian and I heard the neighbors ringing in the New Year with fireworks, alarms, clackers, and what sounded like gunfire, while snug abed in our own happy nest. We rang in the new year right.

We had considered going to a SF club to rave all night. We were tempted, but it just seemed better to stay home this time. We are leaving in just a few days for Hawaii and I needed to get a bunch of proofreading done.

Today we mostly just lazed around the house. (I worked for the better part of the day proofreading a book about criminal evidence, but I got to do it sitting on the couch in my jammies, in the presence of my family.) The storm outside raged on. Ian and Lucas built an amazing track for Lucas’s Thomas trains. They played legos, too. We played board games that Lucas received for Christmas. A fire merrily burned in the fireplace until we ran out of firelogs. We should have taken the ornaments off the Christmas tree since we’re leaving on Thursday morning, but we didn’t. Basically, it was a beautiful day.