day 46 - some favorites

What's your favorite place on this island?

South Point!  The water is just unbelievably clear and blue.  You can see all the way to the bottom... anywhere from 30 to 40 feet... and all the colorful fish in between. 

What was your favorite moment so far?

Snow Angels!!!  We went to the top of Mauna Kea, 13000+ feet.  After exploring the various satellite dishes, scientific observatories, and taking in the breathtaking views, the boys had a little fun.  It was quite hilarious to watch those two lose their shirts and WALK over to this hill and sprawl out in the snow!  Eric started out up by Chuck, but the snow had other ideas for him.  :)

What was your favorite "Hawaii first" so far on this trip?

 

This was our first whale sighting, ever!  We were on the cliffs in Volcanoes National Park and had the privilege of seeing this amazing creature frolicking out at sea!

Favorite sunset so far?

This was absolutely amazing.  It was after a long, crappy day on the windward side of the island that just wouldn't cooperate with us.  Our helicopter ride was cancelled, and we just couldn't escape the rain.  Having seen how much it rained, we knew our plans to go into Waipio Valley the next day were busted as well.  This was really the saving grace for that day.  

 

Favorite element of nature so far?

While Eric was here we went back to Kilauea and at dusk we could see the lava flowing down the hill into the ocean.  This flow had stopped quite a while ago and just resumed when around Thanksgiving.  It took a few days to crest the hill and reach the ocean... just in time for Eric to see it!

Plumlee's Were Here!

tactical bacon

As mentioned in my post,"Some People", Earth's impending Zombie Apocolypse, tactical bacon, armored SUV's, and boob jobs gave birth to this blog.  No really, it makes complete sense!  Kris and I were having a typical post-coffee, mid-morning heart to heart regarding an article we'd read about the 10 essentials for surviving the 2012 doomsday.  (Here's the article that started this convo: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41283196/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/?gt1=43001 ). 


Once you get past the amazing prospect of bacon that can last up to 10 years... you'll find a blurb about what has to be the baddest ride on the planet!  It's called the Knight XV... and I recommend you click on the link in the article to the company's website.  So... as Kris and I were discussing each of our emergency 'shit and git' plans... we were trying to figure out how someone could finance one of these tanks on tires.  Duh... you sell the seats via Ebay or Craigslist.  Sell the available space in the vehicle to the highest bidders, along with a contractual obligation to pick them up on Doomsday!


Now you may be asking where boob jobs fit into all of this.  Silly, it's simple!  Every day, needy women, suffering through life flat-chested, are receiving life-saving breast augmentations at no cost to themselves!!!!  How you ask?!  The kindness of strangers (i.e. pervy men), who are donating anywhere from a dollar up to thousands of dollars.  Don't believe me... just google "boob job donations" and you'll find tons of sites with happy testimonials.


I was dumbfounded by this phenomenon!  People just give you money over Paypal if you ask for it?  For things like boobs!?  What the heck... that's awesome... we should so get an armored SUV!!!!  :)


Of course... by the end of the day the idea had grown on me in a serious context.  What if I could use a blog to talk about my family's story and along the way raise some money for Eric's trip to Hawaii?  It seemed feasible.  If women can get boob jobs from strangers, I should be able to get a plane ticket, right? 


That is the story of my brain child's conception.  However, as I'm sure you've seen, it didn't quite take on the life I thought it would.  I quickly learned that Twitter was something I loathed and the time I thought I'd have to write on a regular basis just didn't exist.  Before I knew it, it was August and we were starting on a course that would lead us to sell all of our belongings and take off to Hawaii.  My efforts didn't match my imagination by a long shot.  So now the focus is just to continue sharing our stories.  If along the way I find a few bucks in my Paypal account from some random person who stumbled onto my blog, that'll just be a nice bonus to help fund Eric's trip to Hawaii. 


16 days until Eric WALKS down the steps of the plane to the Kona runway... we can't wait!!!

fleeting | faded

Thank you Brittany Davis and Missy Kozee.  I appreciate you sharing your emotional stories from that day.  I'm hoping others will add their perspectives as well.  (please visit my last post and add your story)

I've been sitting here looking at a blank screen for a couple of hours now.  There's so much going on in my life I don't know what to do or say first. 

Do I continue with the narrative?  Do I tell of the actual shooting?  Do I cut to the present and let you know how he's doing now?  Do I talk about the direction our lives have taken a turn towards?  What do I do now?

Maybe a little philosphy to tie two things together?  At some point in this story I hope you've said to yourself that life is short and never guaranteed, followed by the realization you should be living it to its fullest.  It's a thought that crosses our minds after a close call... but unfortunately it tends to linger too briefly.  Fleeting and fading.  Life keeps happening, even when it feels like it should stop for you.  The next thing you know you're back to the day to day grind.

It's easier to daydream about doing that thing you've always wanted to do than it is to actually do it.  How many instances in your life can you look back and say "I wish I'd done this" or "I wish I'd done that"?  How much time have you spent doing things other people want you to do instead of the things you wanted to do?  How much time in this one life of yours have you wasted?  How much time has gone by and how much time is left?  There's only one question there you actually know the answer to; that's where you should sober up to the reality of the possibility of regret. 

How does this apply to my past and my future?  Well... I had an eye-opening experience when Eric was shot.  I almost didn't have another day with my stepson.  He almost didn't have another day in his own life.  And all because of an unforeseeable 'wrong place, wrong time' situation.  The fragility of our world was exposed yet the lesson wasn't fully learned... it was fleeting and faded.

Fast forward to an extraordinary set of circumstances starting in August that led us to today.  Today I am making the arrangements to leave this life I've known and start a new one I've dreamed of.  I'm taking the proverbial leap of faith, with my best friend at my side.  I'm hearing so many things from so many directions: crazy, brave, adventurous, reckless, smart, stupid, risky, envious.  Time will only tell which ones turn out to be true.  Hopefully you'll all be there (via blog stalking) to make up your own minds as to which words are most applicable.  I'm crossing my fingers for brave and adventurous and beautiful (ok, I just threw that one in there on my own).  :)

I leave you tonight with some quotes I find inspirational.  Maybe there's one in there that will strike a chord with you.
You only have one life to live, but if you live it to the fullest, one is all you need.

Life is a journey, not a destination.

In thinking about the future, it is better to err on the side of daring than on the side of caution.

Learn as though you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow.

Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.

Every man dies. Not every man really lives.

As you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do.

i remember

backtracking to where i started to deviate... finishing the story of my life-altering 2010 holiday season....


you know the effect in movies where the actor is on a dolly being pulled through a scene with a head mounted camera giving the illusion of someone moving swiftly but unconnected?  no motion to implicate walking, no up and down of the steps... just a gliding forward with an absent gaze... someone following a path they have no control over... caught in their own mind, fully aware that they are moving but unable to stop or change direction?  that was me in the moments between closing the truck door and making it through the garage, crossing the walkway over apple street, speeding down the never ending hall to the emergency room desk, and up the elevator to the ICU... i don't know how fast we walked, maybe we ran... i don't know how long it took... but i do remember the elevator doors opening...


the tear soaked faces of Lari and Vicki, Eric's mother and grandmother, shocked me back into full awareness of the severity of the situation... i'll never forget the crushed and defeated expressions on their faces... Lari was barely able to speak... nearly hyperventilating... between the two of them we started to get bits and pieces of the events of the last hour beginning with "they say he won't walk again"... a point that stuck with those two women but never fully registered in my mind... and here's where it's going to start to become a blur... so much happened, so many stories changed, so many people came and went...

honestly, i can only give broad overstrokes at this point... like ive mentioned time and again... my mind doesn't work the way most do... i was already in caretaker mode... ready to help carry sad souls on my shoulders because of my "everything works out in the end" mentality... i could stand there... watching everyone in their greatest moment of despair and never break down myself... not yet at least... it always hits me later when i'm not expecting it...


finally word came that he was moved from the ER to the ICU... his parents were allowed back to see him... visitors limited to immediate family, two at a time... and in one of those mildly stinging step-parent moments i waited impatiently for chuck and lari to come out... and when they did i wished they'd stayed... tired eyes, red and puffy... confusion visible in the lines of their faces...

i had begun calling people and requesting prayers and positive thoughts via facebook... the word was starting to spread and family and friends were beginning to show up

i remember telling my sister she didn't need to come from Columbus... there was nothing she could really do... and it was Black Friday... her busiest day of the year as a manager of a Jack's... but of course she came (love you Britt)

i remember being surprised by Melissa, one of my dearest friends that i don't get to see that often... just a heartwarming reminder that true friends really are there when you need them most

i remember my cousin Missy and her husband John coming to show their support... that meant a lot considering we were newly reconnected from years of distance

i remember Eric's cousin Alex... one of the most outwardly devastated... also a relationship that had gained some distance... but one with so much history and so much love they'll always be connected

i'd like to take a moment and ask you to share what you remember from that morning

(remember, we're trying to earn money to fly Eric to Hawaii as motivation for his recovery... just $1 via Paypayl to jplum1234@gmail.com)

Sidebar... Let's Build!!!!!!!!!!!

Well we can't be sad all the time, now can we?  (Don't tell my therapist or pharmacologist I said that... they'll worry about a loss of business if they find out! :)

On that note... I think it's time to break from recounting "the story" to updating those of you "out of the know".

Eric's doing pretty goddamn good.  Yeah, that's right... I said it. 

Let's put things in perspective.  On the 26th it will have been 6 months since we thought he would die, and once we knew he'd live, we thought he'd never walk again.  I'm happy to report (and someday potentially post video of) Eric can walk fairly well with a walker.  It's been a while since I had the privilege of seeing it with my own eyes... but I can tell you it's an inspiring sight.  

There's nothing more beautiful for my eyes to behold than that young man carrying his weight on his own two legs.  Ok... maybe more beautiful would be seeing him walk himself to the cliffs at South Point in Hawaii for the world's bluest ocean highlighted by the most incredible sunset known to man.    But aside from that... he's kickin ass! 

Sooo... roughly 6 more months for him to build his endurance, build his muscles, build his strength so that we can make the journey across the continent and the Pacific to a little place Chuck and I call Heaven on Earth.  If you know him... please encourage him on a daily basis.  The road ahead of him isn't lined with roses and lit by sunshine.  At times he's gonna get stuck in the thorns or lost in the darkness.  But I know whether you're a stranger with a pure heart and well wishes, or a friend with compassion and love, we're all going to put enough positive energy out there in his direction to help him achieve this goal.

Business:  donate $1 to our dream via Paypal to Jplum1234@gmail.com