Karwoski Life

There’s so much to say about the second week in Hawaii, I’m not sure where to start. So many people have asked me what my favorite part of the trip was, and I simply can’t answer. Everything?! Well, except maybe for Honolulu traffic and the ridiculous LACK of road signage anywhere on the island…but otherwise, it was nearly perfect. Friday Amy and I eagerly waited for the boys to arrive at the airport, where Julie had dropped us at the curbside. We wore our matching new ‘Woman to Blame’ shirts and floppy hats…the boys were unimpressed. Matt even told Blake to run AWAY! Obviously, they don’t know what’s cute. After cramming our load of crap into the rental car we were on our way to Ko Olina Marriott Beach Club – where we would spend 7 wonderful days! Saturday morning we rounded ourselves up and decided to head down to the beach for the first time. There are 4 manmade lagoons at Ko Olina, which were so perfect for swimming in; no big waves and no threat of big marine life! Heading down t...

The weary travelers have returned and I finally have a few minutes to collect my thoughts and reflect back on what was truly an amazing trip. After 12 days in Hawaii, it was hard to come back to the real world and I’ve been slowly adjusting my attitude about work and chores and regular life. I joked about having a vacation hangover…I was just so sad to leave beautiful Hawaii (and being able to loaf about all day) and return to face a gloomy, rainy, and cold April in Iowa. I think I’m finally starting to snap out of it a bit and get back into my regular routine…SLOWLY. Where to begin??? I guess with the girls’ week. Amy and I flew to Honolulu on April 3rd and met up with Julie, Hope and the rest of the girls that afternoon. That first week, we stayed at Julie’s cousin Leonard’s house just off the shores of Kaneohe Bay. Driving to his house my ears popped as the highway wound its way through beautiful mountains covered with lush, green vegetation. I’d never experienced anything like it....

I’m sure most of you have heard Israel Kamakawiwo Ole’s version of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’. It is a beautiful rendition, which I remember hearing for the first time when Dr. Mark Green was dying on some beautiful island with his family, on the show ‘ER’. Matt teased me more than a little about how sad I was…but the song was so beautiful it really just tugged at my heartstrings for this silly television character I had known for so many years. The other day as I was getting ready for work, Matt told me he had a surprise for me. He had found the song online and played it through the computer speakers for me, knowing how much I loved the song, and also how excited we are for our upcoming trip to Hawaii. I smiled and closed my eyes as I let the words and simple strumming of the ukulele float around us in the early morning quiet of the house. The beauty of the song, it touches me every time I hear it. As we’re planning our big trip and excitedly making plans for activities while there,...

It’s no secret, Matt and I love potlucks. We had one at church Sunday, and I really should have taken a picture of the spread. You would have marveled at it, truly. I have to give my friend (you know who you are) a bad time about your fear of potlucks, but it’s only because you put it out there…and therefore, I feel I must always, always give you crap about this. As we were driving home from this most recent potluck, I found myself thinking of all the reasons WHY I love a potluck…and it’s not just the amazing amounts of quality home-cooked food. There’s something so familial about it. I love helping in the kitchen to get things prepared and set out to serve the congregation. I love the bustling of these ladies, their chit chat, and their laughter. I love watching their hands moving quickly to stir things, and cut things, and shuffle plates of yummy desserts. I think of all the meals those hands have prepared; for their families, for their friends. I think of all the cooking secrets the...

We attended the funeral this week, of a woman from our church. She was well known for having a strong personality and strong opinions. She was not an easy person to read. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. She told it like it was. And underneath an oftentimes perceived gruff exterior, lay a heart swollen with love for others and for her God. I’m sure she was much more complex than I’ll ever know…having lived a lifetime of hardships, blessings, and no doubt heartaches. Though I didn’t know her deeply, I knew enough to smile when I think of her now. I could see the lives she touched, in her own way. She made her mark on us, in our own interactions with her. Offering us home cooked meals after Matt’s stroke, sending us cards, and she always greeted us with a big smile and hearty hello. The last time I saw her in church, a couple of small girls were giving her Valentine’s Day cards…and I could see she was truly touched and tickled. She reminded me a lot of my Grandpa Lyle. The kind of ...

So it’s no small coincidence that today there seems to be a sizable spring in my step and width to my smile. It is bright and sunny outside, the breeze is noticeably warming, and our trip to paradise (i.e.Hawaii) is just around the corner. Ahh…what could I find to possibly complain about today? The past few weeks have been busy with this and that, but with each passing week of gloomy, gray, dirty last-few-weeks-of-winterness, I found myself moving about at a very sluggish and mopey pace. I was sooo tired of winter; so tired of bundling up each morning, so tired of random snow showers, so tired of staring angrily at the stubborn pile of snow in the cul-de-sac behind us…willing it to shrink away and finally reveal the sidewalk below it. It seemed spring would never come…our dear friend Phil had fooled us yet again…dirty rodent. I was grumbly, impatient, IRRITATED!!!! How much longer? HOW MUCH LONGER!?!?!? And then finally…I believe we have turned the corner. I see buds on trees…I see ro...

I don’t mean to be a Valentine’s Day hater…but really…I kind of hate it. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an aversion to what has so blatantly become a ‘Hallmark’ holiday. The older I get, the more I feel like Charlie Brown searching for the meaning of Christmas…only there isn’t so obvious an answer in the end. I guess I ultimately don’t see the point in showering your true love with gifts a plenty on this one day that’s magically deemed special. It seems so…forced. And really, it’s like you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. If you’re in a relationship and your significant other doesn’t do something for you on Valentine’s Day…you are disappointed. If you act disappointed, then your lover feels bad and then feels obligated to remedy the situation with a last minute run to Hy-Vee for flowers…or some such thing. And then you feel bad when they return with what was surely the last tiny handful of baby’s breath…and they feel bad…and you feel bad. If you aren’t in a relat...