The more things stay the same the more they change

Or whatever it is that the French say because you know how the French are.  Also saying quotable things.

So on this recent trip I became acutely aware of how things have changed.  Same island.  But wow.  Different life for sure.

When I was sixteen I was a tourist, thrilled by the sight of palm trees.  I ate Chinese food three times because apparently Chinese food hadn't been invented in Provo yet.

When I was seventeen and eighteen I was a granddaughter, visiting my Mormon missionary grandparents who lived on the sleepy side of the island.

When I was twenty-one, I was recovering from a major depressive episode.  I sat on the beach for three weeks and let Hawaii heal me.  Also, that was the time one of Dad's former players--a Honolulu cop--drove us to the airport with his squad car lights flashing, which allowed him to run red lights at will.  Awesome.

When I was forty-seven I watched my five boys play at being tourists.  They also ate a lot of Chinese food.

And when I was sixty-one I sat on the veranda with my mother, drinking virgin pina coladas and playing cards like we were two maiden aunts in an Agatha Christie novel.

Life in stages, don't you know.