It's a Honu Miracle!

Neither Xee or I have ever collected stuffed animals as adults. But on our "last hurrah" together, pre-Phoebe, we were staying here in Ko Olina (where we now live). I was pregnant at the time. We were walking by a little shop at the Marriott, when an adorable turtle caught Xee's eye. He went into that store as if this little guy was calling his name. I had never really seen Xee so excited about a child's toy.

I think something happens to us when we become parents. Something magical turns on inside and we are able to tap into, if only a wee little bit, that child-like quality that still resides in us all.

Needless to say, we bought the turtle. Xee wouldn't have left the store without him. He named him Honu, which means "green sea turtle" in Hawaiian. Honu has been with us ever since. He was at the hospital when Phoebe arrived, on the plane ride when we moved here. He's part of the family.

Recently Honu went missing. I figured we would find him in a day or two...I found myself panicing a little when I had checked the car, Phoebe's toy closet, under the sofas, under Phoebe's bed. Honu was nowhere to be found!

Have you ever lost something meaningful? Something that in itself, has little value, but is quite important to you?

I began to remember this one very special item that still haunts me today. A card. Not just any card. THE card. The one that sparked it all between Xee and I. He had written a lovely card to me the day after our first date, and when I moved out of my apartment and into our home together after we got married, that card disappeared. I went on a crazy rampage looking for it for months...to no avail. I still look for it. I pray it will show up one day. How could it go missing? How could I have let it happen. It was just a thing. But it meant so very much to me...

And now Honu was missing! Okay, not at all the same when you weigh the two against one another. The amazing card on one hand...the stuffed toy on the other? Regardless, I was worried. And I wasn't the only one. Xee and Phoebe were distressed as well.

I had looked in every possible place for our little turtle with the adorable smile. Oh boy, maybe he's gone. Maybe he fell out of the car without our knowing. Maybe he got run over by a car!

(So dramatic)

Then the other day I was putting away clothes in Phoebe's room, when I was suddenly compelled to look for Honu in a spot I knew I had already checked several times, up and down, and all around. Under the bed.

I lifted the skirt on Phoebe's little bed, and who was lying there, in plain view, just hangin' ? Unbelievable...our very own little Honu miracle!

I am telling you people...I had searched under that bed! Where did he come from?

Well, we are just glad to have our little guy back, safe and sound.

THE END