Shortly after getting married pretty close to 30 years ago now ... My relationship with my mother started to deteriorate ... I didn't realize it at the time but looking back on it now ... It did start way back then .. She was very jealous, bitter and resentful .. But I kept denying it in my my mind ... brushing each incident under the rug ... making excuses ... and just trying to enjoy my new life ... It's pretty sad to admit this and it's worse to know it was my own mother ..
Just a day or two ago ... an older woman came in my store with very basic clothing on carrying a paper bag ... and I knew by looking at her she didn't have much ... We started talking about the store and the items we carry and the she proceeded to show me her own art ... People like this come in our store all the time as we carry and support at least 40 local artists and craftsman and lots of beautiful local creations. We buy all kinds of local creations from jewelry, paintings, body products and food items .. So our conversation went on and I really loved my new friend Marilyn's jewlery, trinkets etc.. Especially a gorgeous, very natural looking puka shell necklace and interesting round beautiful wooden box that she told me she paid a quarter for at the thrift shop and that she thought it was a really great find and loved it very much. Shen then started to tell me a story about how she wanted to give her Granddaughter a gift but had no money. She then created a beautiful gift for her Granddaughter using a special pendant and gave it to her with great joy and pride ... Only to find this gift in the trash a few months later ... At this point I was pretty much in tears ... knowing that she created this gift with her own two hands cause she wasn't able to buy a gift. She also told me how she uses safety pins to drill through her shells so that she can string them ... I have created a lot of jewlery with shells and natural items and started with a hand drill and trust me it's very tedious and hard work doing this type of work without the aide of an electric tool. Marilyn's work is very beautiful and truly creative and shows her deep talent, but more importantly her genuine love. 
Something my own mother slowly deprived me of. I told Marilyn that I would speak to the owner to see if she would buy some of her creations so that she could make some money, especially the beautiful pukka shell necklace ... I told her I knew that she could get at least $100 for the puka necklace alone ... and if I had the extra I would surely pay her ... She was surprised and I could tell that she would ever expect to get that kind of money for her work ... She then started to pack her stuff up and put her things in her bag and little containers ... I saw her empty the round wooden box thinking she was reorganizing and put the puka shell necklace inside ... She then turned to me and handed me the box with her beautiful smile ... and told me " I want you to have this.. " I was stunned and then really started to cry telling her that she couldn't just give me this ... She said "I can do whatever I want!! and I want you to have this!!! I didn't know what to say but gave her a huge hug!! I told her then I would make her something special of my own creation !!! Oh no you don't have to do that ... I told her back " I can do whatever I want!!" Lol .... 
I gave her another hug ... and she went on her way to collect more shells ... natural Hawaiian treasures found on our beaches ... and using her beautiful God given talents .... ❤️ Marilyn's visit made my day that day ... and I am creating her something special to carry all her creations, supplies and personal belongings in ... and we are going to meet again in the next week or two ... We did share phone numbers !!! She did have a cute little flip phone and we verified our numbers by calling each other right then and there ... She also showed me some pictures of some other family in her phone ... This day I made a dear friend in just a few minutes that I felt more caring and genuine love from ... than I did from my own mother in the last almost 30 years ... not because she gave me something but because she was real and genuine .. Each day we need to remember and cherish as another special day God has given us to help one another and make each other's day !! ❤️❤️
I gave her another hug ... and she went on her way to collect more shells ... natural Hawaiian treasures found on our beaches ... and using her beautiful God given talents .... ❤️ Marilyn's visit made my day that day ... and I am creating her something special to carry all her creations, supplies and personal belongings in ... and we are going to meet again in the next week or two ... We did share phone numbers !!! She did have a cute little flip phone and we verified our numbers by calling each other right then and there ... She also showed me some pictures of some other family in her phone ... This day I made a dear friend in just a few minutes that I felt more caring and genuine love from ... than I did from my own mother in the last almost 30 years ... not because she gave me something but because she was real and genuine .. Each day we need to remember and cherish as another special day God has given us to help one another and make each other's day !! ❤️❤️Aloha & A Hui Hou ....
