2020 Sucked.
It’s been almost an entire year since our last post. Not just any year. 2020. The year of the pandemic, another recession, elections, lockdowns, protests, and murder hornets. It’s been over a year since we’ve traveled to see family, friends, or new places. No more kisses on the cheek to say hello. “Air hugs”. Masks. It’s been a weird socially-distanced year but we all came through, our health in-tact (because we wore masks in public).
We also made masks for family.
Luckily, the Lius live on Maui. Luckily, daddy always worked from home. Luckily, COVID cases never really spiked on Maui in 2020. But we did have two weeks of lockdown. And flights stopped to the islands from the mainland for months. So our tourism-driven economy tanked. But the mauna always provides. And so does the kai. The people of Maui took care of each other. It was less stressful here than what it sounded like on the mainland. So we took advantage of the few opportunities to see friends and family in our COVID bubble when we could.
But enough about the dumpster fire that was 2020. Let’s talk about the star of this show: Kai!
Who is he now?
He is an Astronaut-Super Hero-Sparkle Obsessed-Speed Demon! You can find him flying down our driveway in sparkley outfits (and a helmet), enjoying the wind blowing back his sun kissed curls. He knows how to count and is even learning how to add and subtract. He listens, sings, and dances to music all the time and his top three songs are: I Like to Move It, Move It, D.D.D.D., and Let It Go. He does science experiments, sends letters to Beans, and engineers flying contraptions out of almost any material. He’s still an all-around, pretty cool dude.
He also cusses… (we’re working on it)
“Hey, mama? What are you doing? What are you f**cking doing?”
“‘What’s wrong?’, ‘Oh, just some old people in front of us’, ‘Oh my f**king god...’”
He is an activist
Kai’s first demonstration he ever went to was the Women’s March when he was still in mama’s belly. Mama has always believed in standing up for what’s right, even if she’s been afraid to make waves. But after the death of George Floyd, she thought about the future of her son. Mama got some poster board, wrote the words we say to each other, and Kai decorated it. The family went down to the corner of Haleakala & Hana Highway and stood with a crowd of people that believed Black Lives Matter. And then we went again. Mama organized another demonstration with Auntie Maya and we marched together. Sometimes, Kai gets the urge to shout, “Black Lives Matter!”. Sometimes, he is at home and marching in the yard. Sometimes, he stands on a bench in the middle of his classroom. He knows he is Black, his life matters, and he is not disposable.
He has his own style
It’s mostly sparkley. Mama has almost exclusively bought Kai cotton t-shirts and shorts. But then he requested jeans. Then came the occasional need for sunglasses. A little necklace, here and there. Then Kai started asking to wear makeup. Paint his nails. Buy him a dress. Mama wasn’t quite sure what to do. But she figure, at some point, Kai is going to want to do something that might be confusing to others but doesn’t harm anyone. And when that day comes, she wants him to look back on these moments when he was three and have proof that someone will always be there to support him. So she bought him the dress. And the sparkely slippers. And the shoes dipped in glitter. And the nail polish. And tried to put his makeup on. And held his hand in public. And supported his fashion choices because it made him feel good and it didn’t hurt anybody.
He is a Country Boy
Kai is becoming quite the little farmer. The Liu family got their COVID garden started so they would have at least one or two days worth of food in the garden. But mama did one more thing. She bought day-old chickies! Kai helped care for the chicks, he painted the coop, learned how to hold them, and when the day finally came, he learned how to look for the eggs!
Quarantine Buddies!
This year, we weren’t able to travel to see friends and family. But when the company renting our cottage was unable to extend their lease, we opened it up to anyone willing to stay long enough to quarantine first. The Nunezs took us up on the offer. We all ended up having to stay on the property until their quarantine time was over because toddlers don’t social distance or wear masks. But it was worth it and the kiddos really got to bond. We have just one more week with them but they are definitely a bright spot in our 2020 experience.
We rang in the new year in a big way!
Instead of the usual, sleep at 10pm routine, the Lius and the Nunezs celebrated together. We filled up on pozole, cranked up the music, drank the good drinks, danced for hours, then watched the whole island light up with fireworks. It was loud and crazy and fun. This year challenged us far beyond what we were expecting or really ready for so to end on a note of joy and happiness was the relief we all needed.
2020 was a doozy. But we made it through. Big changes are coming for the Liu family in 2021. Kai goes to school full-time now. He sleeps all night in his own bed. He buckles himself in his carseat. Gets ready for school all by himself. He’s officially a “Big Boy”. So mama doesn’t need to stay at home all day anymore. She will officially have an identity outside of being Kai’s mama. It’s time for her to start her career journey. (But she will still take time to talk about how awesome she thinks her son is here)
