I remember waking up that last day being pretty bummed about only having a few hours left on Kauai. We went to the post office one last time to mail the few boxes of souvenirs we had purchased. As far as souvenirs were concerned, I’d say we had certainly bought the amount of our original luggage times five.
We explored Smith’s Tropical Paradise on the east coast, where peacocks just walked along the path ahead of us. This place had a beautiful collection of gardens, birds, and even a centralized pond complete with a red bridge. It was a very relaxing visit.
Once we got to the airport later that night a flood of overwhelming sadness just rushed through me. Hard to explain, but my mood went completely 180. Going through security I had to fight back the tears, and the desire to grab John’s hand and bolt in the opposite direction. As we sat there waiting to board the plane, I watched the lights of the island in the distance, and without hesitation, the tears flowed down my cheek. All I could think was a mixture of Why didn’t I soak in that moment, or that moment in more? Will I be back? Ugh, I don’t want to leave.
John held me close and said, “We’ll be back.”
The tears continued until I finally forced myself to try to get some rest once we had boarded the plane and were en route back to South Carolina. I had found a sense of complete peace, and wanted to never let it go.
