A Special Gift One day, I was given a very special gift. A dear lady told me she wanted to ask for a name on my behalf. I told her I would be honored. I am not sure how these things usually happen, but since she approached me, I said yes. When she told me what had come to her, I was silent. She wanted to know what I thought. I had not spoken with her about anything personal except Geoffrey's antics. I want to share why I was so amazed. My mother and I barely speak to each other. I had a hard childhood and SHE had a hard adulthood. Between the two of us, there has never been much that was positive. We are so different. BUT . . . she gave me one thing that I have treasured dearly; the story of the morning that I was born. I always wanted to write about this. It was not so unique except that it was something good between us. My mother had a very high fever when I was born and the nurses had taken me from her immediately. She was very upset. About an hour after she gave birth to me, she asked the nurse to pull the blinds and she said she saw a beautiful rainbow. She went home without me because she had the measles. Before all was said and done, we were apart for 3 weeks. She used to tell me that having seen the rainbow had given her strength to be without me. She knew it would be ok. I have always held this story dear. My friend came to me with the name 'Morning Rain', Sunalei Agasgv. This gift opened up a most wonderful lesson for me. She and I had not discussed the morning I was born, ever. All these years, I thought it was the rainbow that made the story special. I saw the rainbow through my mother's eyes. She has always seen rainbows. We always kidded her about her rose-colored glasses. Once again I see how different she and I are. I always thought she missed the lessons that life would teach her. What I forgot, is that her lessons are not my lessons. MY story refused to grow with the slant I was trying to place on the BEGINNING. For the first time, I realize it wasn't the rainbow, but the RAIN that made me who I am. There are reasons for everything. Sometimes we move through life for a LOOOONGGG time without understanding. Timing is in Creator's hands. For me, for my children, it is the Rain that will bring us through with greater understanding and love for each other. My daughter called me and we talked very personally the other day. She told me she will raise her daughter without abuse. She named support groups she has checked into, organizations who will help her learn to parent. Even though she thinks this has all come to her on her own, my heart is singing. To me, it means all the pain is worth it. Everytime I said no and did not go back into their chaos, made a difference. All the tears I have cried are not in vain. I have believed that above all else, it was my responsibility to break the cycle of abuse for my children. My daughter is Kaiha, which means seawater. Her daughter is already named Amequohi . . . 'of the sea'. My granddaughter is going to have a chance! A new day dawns for my family. Man, there is beauty in the rain. I am honored by this gift. You know the best part? With this understanding, new doors have opened for mama and me too. Connections are being made all over the place!