5/2: Building bathrooms

Aloha Kakou:

Thought I should throw in the eensiest bit of Hawaiian for May Day. Hope you guys are having a good Monday.

As some of you may know, my husband is a painter, and he recently did a mural for the new Disney resort. This past Saturday they had a "mahalo day" for all the construction workers--where everyone who built the hotel got to bring their families and do a "behind the scenes" tour of the site before it opens this fall. Solomon had to give a talk about the mural he had painted, so we went, and let me just say, it is really gorgeous and there are lots of special effects that are really cleverly done--mo'o, he'e, and pueo carved into the mountain they've built, and fiber optic lights, and lanterns that look like giant ipu, and a huge aquarium. We were feeling very awed, and very important because Sol was one of the artists.

Several hundred people were there. While we were standing in front of the giant fountain, oohing and aahing at how clever it was, I heard one guy say, "Okay, well after this I going show you guys the bathroom I built." The way he said it was like, "Forget this--the coolest thing in this place is my bathroom." He was so proud--I laughed. But at the same time, why shouldn't he be? His contribution was just as important to the whole place as the fountain, or vaulted ceilings, or murals. And more people are likely to ask, "Where is the bathroom?" than "Where is the mural?" And actually, in an emergency, I bet everyone would pick a bathroom over a mural.

We went to look. It was a very nice bathroom.

I hope you have pride in all the things you do. Though some contributions are more visible than others, every part makes the whole and everyone's work is important. Have a good week!

-Meredith

ps. This week we will be doing Zumba al fresco on the black top at Nuuanu Elementary!
pps. It's free Zumba this Thursday, so bring all your friends!
ppps. In case you don't know the price structure, it's $5/class, or you can get the pass, which is $45/12 classes. Nu'uanu Elementary faculty and staff have a special $3/class mahalo rate.
pppps. We have ONE new song this week!