Maui

Remember when orphan Annie first beheld Daddy Warbucks palatial "crib"? She was like a rap star's girlfriend sipping Cristal for the very first time... Well, that bedazzled girl was me this past weekend during our escape to Maui's Grand Wailea resort.  We felt like "ballers" -in the best, most non-criminal sense of the word. And it was divine.

From the Greco-Hawaiian fusion architecture  to Renaissance-inspired statuaries decorously shrouded by fragrant foliage and cascading falls, this verdant Eden overwhelmed.  Tasteful topiaries, flowing florals and tropical trees create a botanical wonderland which nearly eclipsed the backdrop of the cerulean Pacific seas. 

Truly, it was more lovely than words. The shared company of friends under baby blue skies, shaded by a poolside cabana proffering delicious delicacies generally reserved for record label moguls was an unmerited indulgence. Mango Mojitos and frozen grapes and figs and fresh papaya-the Promised Land of cabana dining. Meanwhile, our own little football team of (11) kids between us disappeared all day amid the labyrinth of a rock-carved pool playground- which achieved the impossible of making water slides classy.  Pool volleyball, beach walks and the mere opportunity to complete a whole sentence during an adult conversation. What more could a girl as for?

....Other than perhaps a leisurely (enough-with three kids) stroll along a charming street in a quaint beach town with a unexpected antebellum gentility. Chapped roofs weathered by time, boutiques boasting shark teeth and harbors hosting vintage vessels greeted smitten wayfarers in Lahaina and Pa'ia alike. Their gracious allure- impossible to resist.

Spoiled utterly, we were. And thanks for hanging in there since I would truly gag while reading these ramblings by some other smug recipient of the royal rap star treatment at a luxurious resort.  However, this weekend served ultimately as a reminder of God's generous grace and our abject unworthiness of it. And when I assured Eowyn that Heaven would be even more wondrous than all this (insert dramatic wave of hand)- she cheerily replied, "Well, I cannot wait to die." Perhaps she has the right perspective- This weekend was merely a foretaste to spending eternity as the adopted heir of the Mogul.

Until then, this laundry won't fold itself. So, thanks Grand Wailea- for the first time ever- you made me wish I could throw down a rap.