Shaka Time!

Years ago, when we lived in Hawaii, I would go for a daily morning run along Ali’i drive. After dropping my older daughter off at kindergarten, I strapped my younger daughter in the jogging stroller and took off. There was this one section along the ocean where an older Hawaiian man sat against the lava rock wall. Every time we passed him by he would wave a Shaka at us. It wasn’t long before my little two year old caught on and I would notice her little chubby hand stick out from stroller and wave a Shaka to the old man. It became a sort of ritual between the old man and my little two year old. Moving away from Hawaii was the hardest for my little one. She truly is an island babe. As a little token from our time there, we put a Shaka sticker on our car window which so happened to be the same side where her car seat was strapped. One day, while driving, she spurted from the back, “Shaka time!” and insisted we all had to do the Shaka. And so, ‘Shaka time’ was born and something we still do to this day whenever we feel glum, need a boost or just missing our island days.