So, today totally sucked!

I stayed up waaaaay too late last night working on a lesson plan I am teaching in two weeks, for no apparent reason. I was so tired I didn't even put the clean sheets on my bed and I woke up at 6am to go to the bathroom. I forced myself to go back to sleep.
Needless to say that when my alarm went off I did not spring from bed and rush off to all the things I had to do today. So, we were running late when I stopped to buy bottles of water and race off to a scout service project. It surprised me when my card was declined and I realized that the check I mailed to the DMV two days ago had already cleared and bounced. Six weeks it takes them to get me the stickers, but two days to take my money.
We drove like the wind, didn't stop for breakfast and made it five minutes late to the project my son was in charge of-not a good start. Three boys showed up, no leaders, no tools. I piled them in and we headed out to pick up a shovel at a near by house, picked up another boy who arrived just as we left and suddenly I didn't have enough seats for all the boys. Have I mentioned these are teenage boy scouts and I'm not supposed to be in charge of them?
It was blazing hot and the project as dirty and annoying. Nearing the end I piled cut branches into my car to take to the recycling bin and left the side door to my car open so I could collect more bags of greenery. Bent over picking up a bag I hear a crunch, a car crashing crunch. I see a silver mini van pulling away from my car and rush over to see if it was actually damaged. The minivan speeds away down the street.
The door won't shut, the driver door won't open. I have a car full of spider filled branches and no way to get 5 boys home.
Thanks to the help of friends the boys got home. I tied the door shut as much as it will close. It's still open about 5 inches, but I can drive it. The police are going to check the exit cameras at Leisure World and hopefully catch the idiot that did this. Maybe miraculously they will even have insurance. Probably not, and the money I earned this week will go not to my car payment or getting the oil change and new tire I need and the mattress my son needs because he's now too tall for his childhood twin, but to the deductible.
Someday they will know that they destroyed the only transportation of a poor single mom struggling to feed and clothe and bed a growing teenage boy and that their choice to run away cost me more than I can afford, because I couldn't even afford my regular life let alone another $500 to throw away because they were selfish narcissistic jerks.

Paddling your own canoe...or in this case kayak

Strange how the deepest thoughts can come from the strangest places. Today I took my son and the daughter and son of a friend out kayaking in the canals in Huntington Harbor. 

They were out of the single kayaks I had reserved, so Shaun and her daughter had to share a double kayak, while I paddled a double with the 7 year old. I watched them head one way, and then the other, constantly zig zagging across the canal, gradually making it forward. I mentioned it once, pointing out the complete waste of energy it took to cruise for a moment and then paddle twice as hard the other direction.

I, on the other hand, was paddling myself with the "help" of a very energetic seven year old boy who repeatedly thrust his paddle into the water to stop our forward progression not understanding that his attempts to paddle too were making my life harder. 

But still, I looked at the big kids and thought about how much easier it was to just do it myself rather than having to coordinate with someone else. For the past 13 years I have been largely "doing it myself" raising a boy, trying to be both stay at home parent and working parent all in one magnificent slip of the wand. 

Several times in the past 13 years I have been grateful there is no one to compromise with. I can do it my own way and get it done, no one to fight with, no one to stand in my way. I wish I had someone to have fun with and help out, but when it comes down to brass tacks, I kind of like my solitary life and only having to clean up my own mess in the bathroom. 

Continuing on with all my mixed metaphors. On the way back from our lunch stopping point the big kids got it together. They figured it out. Even being misdirected and having to take the long way, they beat us back to our starting point by quite a bit of time. 

I was also held up by mini man wanting to swim along side the kayak rather than ride inside. I was often back paddling in order to not get ahead and when he tired he hung onto the back making it nearly impossibly to make headway. 

I thought again about doing it myself. How long it takes to do it all on your own with a boy in tow; how tired I was about half way through and still paddling away mind over matter; how much I wanted to just make him get in the kayak so I could be done already, but I let him play and enjoy himself instead. 

There have been many times in the past more than a decade that I wish I didn't have to do it myself. It would have been nice to have a fairy Godmother solve it for me. For many years I was tired, ok I still am. For many years I did what I didn't want to do so that he could play and enjoy himself. I have made more sacrifices than I can remember in order to be and do what was best for him.
In a few short years he will leave the nest. I'll be back to paddling my own kayak all by myself. It will be easier, maybe I can actually start that career I've always wanted. Life will flow without all the stops and starts and worries over whether or not he's safe and keeping up. But, I will miss him more than I could possibly imagine, and as for the past 13 years, I wouldn't trade my kayak with him as my passenger for all the single kayaks in the world. 

Once he's gone, I may enjoy the single kayak life for a while or decide to invite a new passenger in as long as they are willing to be a partner, not a drag. When it works, it works better than a single paddle ever could. When it's bad, it's way worse than any amount of work on your own. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm grateful for the past and all the paddling has given me muscles I never knew were possible and never thought I wanted. 

Here's to new adventures and many more canals to discover. 

Life is messy

A few years ago I started a blog dirtymamas.blogspot.com with my friend because we wanted to make and sell aprons.
She wanted What a mess, but it was taken, so I suggested dirty mamas.

The first time I told a friend, she looked at me as though she had heard wrong and I just laughed. We are dirty mamas, because life is messy and our aprons will keep you clean.

So, this is my place to write and share about my messy life as a single, trying to be stay at home, working, home schooling mom. 

Tonight I am packing and preparing to go stay with my friend's kids for a few days while she and her husband go on vacation. My son is 15, it's not like he'll die staying with my parents in the 4 days I'm gone. The thing is that in all his almost 15 1/2 years I've only ever left him once. He's left me to go to his dad's and camp, but I've only ever gone away when he was already gone so he didn't know.

Maybe it's just me, but him being a teenager actually makes it worse. At 5 he probably would have just had a fun week away from mom. At 15 I worry more what he is or is not doing and if it could possibly kill him to spend 4 complete days watching videos on his phone. I'm pretty sure he won't brush his teeth and may or may not shower. There's no way to know if he'll eat anything with any nutritional value. In short, I'll miss being needed. 

Lea rough draft chapter 5

The station is a large room carved out of an outcropping at the edge of the town. A cave opening at each end allows the transport to enter and exit without having to turning around. Romo walks up behind Lea with her ticket in his hand and puts his arm around her shoulder. He gently guides her over to an empty seat.

She is still so confused and in disbelief. She probably would have just stood there staring at the blank wall. Focusing on her dad, she starts to remember long ago when she was five years old and she met him for the first time.

Romo had been dating Moana for a few months when she and Lea came into his furniture store. Not having much experience with precocious children Romo asked Lea which wardrobe she would like for her room. He expected her to want a pink one or one with flowers painted on the front. He was stunned by Lea's serious expression as she explained her fascination with a particular cabinet.

The tall wooden wardrobe was lightly stained with an intricately beautiful map carved into the front doors. The detailed map showed Communities around the globe and the trade routes that connect them. Full of confidence she told him about “all the stuff that I need to know because one day I'm going to be Queen” and it would be easier to learn if it is carved into her closet door. That moment cemented Romo's decision to ask Moana to marry him. He loved Moana and was now completely taken with her daughter.

The more time Romo spent with them, the more frustrated Lea was having to share her mom with this new guy. He worked hard to prove himself by caring for her mom and doing all the crazy and fun things dads do so much better than moms. The day they went to the beach for a vacation was the day Lea decided to keep him.

Romo, Moana and Lea swam to the shore of an island several kilometers from their community. They ate lunch on the white sands under the shade of a large bush polka dotted in orange tropical flowers. After eating, Lea wanted to climb a large tree growing on a small hill a short distance from the shore. Romo offered to climb with her and Lea reluctantly agreed even though she secretly hoped he wouldn't be a good tree climber and would leave her alone. As it turned out Romo was an excellent tree climber. Up the rough trunk they went rose, much higher than Lea could have gone by herself.

Moana called up to them to be careful. Lea knew it was her mom's signal that she should stop climbing, even though her mom would never say so out loud. Mom's never let kids do anything exciting or adventurous because they worry about them all the time. Romo heard her, but called down that they were fine and would come down in a little while. Lea waited for her mom to overrule him, but when she didn't Lea smiled and they continued up the tree hanging high above the blue and white foamy waves.

A few minutes later, they carefully balanced on the highest branches that would still support them. Romo pointed out all the animals living along the shore and in the shallows. He explained why the waves rose and broke they way they did. He showed her the curving path of a riptide rolling away from the sand out to deep water. Then he helped her descend branch by branch back into the waiting arms of her mom.

He has been her dad for almost seven years. Instead of choosing a new last name to start a new family like couples usually do, Romo accepted the royal Ariki name and forever became a part of their family. Now with her 5 year old brother and 4 year old sister they are a complete family.

A family she was leaving behind, to travel half way around the globe, to escape something she doesn't even understand.

“Lea, there is something important you need to know before you leave,” Romo's voice is calm and steady, but his uncomfortable squirm tells her there is still more he hasn't told her.

A small water spider makes his way down a silken line in the corner preparing to make his web and catch his dinner. Thoughts flash through Lea's mind as she wonders what in the world her dad could be this uncomfortable about. She smiles as she considers the last uncomfortable conversation she had with her parents.

“This isn't another 'where do babies come from' conversation is it?” Lea teases, desperate to make the conversation less stressful. He actually laughs a little in response to her joke. The tension breaks in his face, his tone of voice suddenly becomes bearable.

“As Queen of the Community your mom knows certain secrets, things we don't share with the rest of the population,” he pauses while she considers this information. “Even the adults in our Community don't know the truth. Only a few citizens who have special responsibilities have ever been told.”

Lea's forehead wrinkles as she considers what he's saying. He searches for more words but can't think of what to say next. From a small bag slung over his shoulder, he pulls out an old book. She can see the red cover of the children's stories her mom read to her when she was little. On the front is a drawing of a young girl swimming away from a Land People boat, it nearly hits her as she escapes below it.

All of the stories in it's illustrated pages are tales about imaginary people who live on land but attempt to travel around the world above the water. Some of these stories end with the poor land people dying, usually they drown. The really fanciful stories are about their lives on land. Strange buildings, animals, and plants that are clearly the stuff of bedtime stories and nothing more.

Occasionally, there have been people in the Community who claim to have seen Land People. These sightings are usually dismissed as crazy imaginations of a confused person. The human mind is amazing in it's ability to convince itself that something it has seen can't possibly be true. Usually people will decide on their own that they haven't really seen what they thought they saw. It's just logical that there must be a more rational explanation.

“Lea,” her dad is almost whispering as he glances at a family waiting at the other side of the station, “Land People actually exist.”

She bursts out laughing at the lengths her dad will go to stop her from worrying. The idea of Land People is totally ridiculous. People can't live without water. The sun would burn their skin and damage their eyes. If they did exist wouldn't we know about them? The idea of it is just silly.

Strangely, her dad isn't laughing. He can't possibly be serious? Lea suddenly feels even more uncomfortable than her dad looks. She might almost prefer anything rather than the look of insistence in her dad's eyes.

“For real?” she manages to squeak out still not sure how she should respond.

“For real; very, very real” dad assures her, “Your cousin does not live in Catalina. She actually lives near by in a place called California in a large city named Seal Beach. You need to be prepared for what you are going to see and learn.” The words slip out of his mouth one at a time, slowly so Lea will listen carefully.

“Malina lives ON LAND,” he blurts out, unable to think of a better way to say it. His dark eyes stare into hers to make sure she knows he is serious. Lea wants to smile, to laugh, to show she understands the joke, but can't get past the look on her dad's face.

Her dad always loves jokes and getting her to believe strange stories before he lets on they are only a tease. Land People are real?...next he will be telling me there are beings who travel from other stars or magical people that live in the center of the earth.

“People can't live on land,” Lea wrinkles her brow in confusion, “how would they possibly survive without the water? Without the salt they would bloat up like puffer fish. You mean she visits the land, like we visit the beach or the islands.”

“No, she lives on land, all the time.” He sees a light of understanding in her eyes so he continues. “You can never share this with anyone. You can never tell anyone what you experience in the time you are there. The law of our community is that anyone who chooses to live with the Terrans, land people, cannot return to live with us. The chance for exposure to them or us is too great. Obviously we will make an exception when you return as long as you never share what you have learned.”

At those words Lea bursts out laughing, the stress of the moment is a little too much for her. The sound of her laughter draws the attention of the other people in the station and Romo looks at them hoping to see that they did not actually hear any of the conversation.

Romo glances again at the spider, oblivious to what is going on, still making his web between the wall and the closest bench. His voice is calm and patient as he tries to quiet her down and continue convincing her he is telling the truth.

Knowing he only has little time to explain, Romo hands her the book of bed time stories. Her mind shifts through the tales of strange people traveling in wooden transports floating above the water. Some of them are fanciful tales, others are full of dangerous Terrans, Land People, who attack Mermans without warning and demolish their Communities.

These stories usually involve a super hero who steps up to save the Mermans after a suspenseful and destructive battle. None of them are realistic and no one would dream of believing they are real. Lea jumps as the agent announces the transport has arrived and after the arriving passengers have disembarked she and the few others that are traveling will be able to take their seats.

“Lea, you must believe me. I don't have time to explain all the details. I need you to trust me, think about it. Most important, you must keep it a secret. You must never tell any of our people. Even more surprising though is that the Terrans don't know we exist either. You won't be able to tell any of them about us.”

She stops dead in her tracks. “How is that possible?” Two civilizations living together on one planet neither knowing the other lives there too.

Romo grabs her bag and walks to the line beginning to form to get on board. He stores her bag underneath in the luggage compartment and hugs Lea tightly.

“Be careful. We love you. Malina will take care of you, listen to her and behave,” Romo's last words bring tears to her eyes. She will miss her family even though they are annoying a lot of the time.

Lea steps inside the empty transport. Glancing at the reclining seats lining both walls, Lea realizes it is empty except for a teenage boy. He looks to be only a couple years older than Lea and he is slumped in the back seat as if he doesn't want anyone to notice him. His clothes are slightly worn and he looks tired as he raises his eyes briefly and then hides them again when he notices her noticing him.

Lea takes a seat toward the back so she can have some privacy to think over everything her dad told her. A mom and two kids come in next. The mom arms are piled high with bags and toys for the long journey. The two little boys are already climbing the seats and jumping from one to another pretending the floor is lava and they will be turned into stone if they touch it. The mom smiles at Lea, introduces herself as Ani and explains that they are moving to live with her sister in Hawaiki.

Ani convinces the boys to stay in one seat so the imaginary sharks don't eat them as two more passengers come aboard. Two young men are traveling to Molokai University in the east Pacific community. They sit a few seats in front of Ani and her little boys.

The last passenger aboard is the wise old woman, Lorelei. She greets the conductor Bane. As he throws his long hair over his shoulder Lea can better see the traditional spiral and wave tattoo around his eyes and cheeks. Lorelei asks about his wife and his kids. Next, she congratulates the young men on starting another year at school and asks about their parents and their courses of study. Lorelei stops to talk to Ani and pulls candy out of her large bag to bribe the boys into behaving for their mom.

Lorelei smiles at Lea, “I'm glad you were able to make it aboard. With such a rush I thought you might not make it in time.” Lorelei picks a seat one row ahead of Lea against the opposite wall leaving Lea to wonder how she could possibly know what is going on. Lorelei sits down, opens her bag and pulls out a ball of fuzzy thread to knit. Lea puzzles how much Lorelei knows, probably more than Lea knows herself seeing her parents didn't even tell her why she is leaving.

With a small shudder the transport starts its undulating motion. Small bubbles rush past the mirrored windows as the station slips behind them. Lea turns to watch her dad leaning against the wall and waving good bye until she can no longer see him, then she sits back in her seat and listens to her music on the recording sphere. Lea pushes away the guilt that she should read the children's stories by flooding her mind with songs instead and sits back to relax.

Tides of Trust

Eeek, Tides of Trust, I previously posted rough drafts here, is now available for sale!
I am really excited and can't wait to hear everyone's opinions.

Two quotes keep coming to me:

"I wrote the story because I really wanted to read it."
"I write because having 'characters' in my head sounds less scary than 'voices'"

I hope you all enjoy these chapters as much as I have enjoyed writing them!

Lea rough draft chapter 4

On Lea's left is her school, the round entry is open for anyone to swim in. Glass doors covering the inside entry are still lit as students and teachers trickle out at the end of the school week. Round windows identify each classroom and office, they are dark like the school has closed it's eyes to sleep until hordes of children wake it up again two days from now.

Lea twists her course and heads around the polo stadium. She thinks about her match tomorrow and feels minnows flutter through her midsection in nervousness. The large natural dome has benches lining both sides reaching from near the roof down into the pool and below the water line to the floor. They are separated from the action by a huge glass cylinder three quarters filled with water so that fans can watch the game whether the players are breaching the surface or diving to score.

Farther past the stadium lies the oldest part of town. This part of the mountain reaches up toward the surface, its one long finger nearly touching the air. Small, well cared for homes built one above another are connected by traveling tunnels. Ancient Tebans used them to travel up to the surface back when the waters were not as deep as they are now.

In a few moments her home comes into view. Her neighborhood lies between the older homes and the newer developments. Lea waves to a neighbor glancing out of his kitchen window. Two boys jump in and out of the entry to their home. Without fins on they can't get far on a single breath of air.

Her house sits in the middle of the row and Lea stops to pick a small round fruit from the yard before swimming in the doorway. A large round entry welcomes her. She is very wet but still has plenty of breath left. The entry is warm compared to the cool water. The heated seat feels good as Lea pulls off her fin, hangs up her bag, and turns on the blower to dry her dripping hair and soaked blouse.

“Mom, where are you?” Lea calls through the doorway.

She starts to worry when her mom doesn't respond. Horrors start to flip through her mind like a quickly moving stack of pictures. Are her parents alright? Maybe something was wrong with her little brother or sister? For a moment she hopes that there isn't anything going on, that her mom called her for a nonsense reason only moms think is important.

Once her long brown hair and shirt are mostly dry, Lea turns off the blower. Still sitting on the bench Lea, is about to stand when her dad swims up. Romo Ariki has been Lea's dad since she was 5 years old. Lea smiles at him as he turns on the blower.

“Where's mom?” he shouts over the noise of rushing air. He removes his fin and hangs it on the hook above hers.

“Not sure yet,” Lea replies, walking into the main room, “Mom didn't respond when I called.”

Romo eagerly calls to Moana wanting to make sure that she is alright. Her voice finally replies from the other room and comes around the corner nearly walking into Lea now standing in the passway to the kitchen.

Moana is holding a large striped travel case in one hand and a smaller orange duffel in another. She sets down the luggage on the solid carved table near the water entrance and walks over to the sofa. Moana looks at Lea, but suddenly turns away as a tear quietly rolls down her cheek.

Moana practically falls onto the sofa and motions for Lea to sit as well. Romo stands looking at the ceiling sky light not sure how to start, worry clear on his face. Unable to relax, Lea's right leg bounces as she waits for her parents to speak.

“Lea, there is an emergency,” her mom begins, but stops when she sees the flash of panic in her daughter's face. Moana assures Lea that no one is hurt and Saun and Tianna are alright.

“We've learned of a threat from someone who wants to force a union between our community and theirs.” Moana takes a deep breath not sure how to continue.

“We've made a plan to keep you safe. We need you to go visit your cousin, Malina, for a few weeks. I can't explain it all right now, there isn't time.” With a wave of her hand as though it's really not a big deal, Moana adds, “Don't worry, think of it just as a vacation and a way to escape your Math test. You'll be back as soon as I can take care of it.”

Thoughts swirl through Lea's mind as she wonders what type of emergency could have occurred to make it necessary for her to go away. Who could possibly want to hurt me, I'm just a girl. I'm not mean and I haven't done anything to hurt anyone to make them want to hurt me back. She considers pressuring her mom to tell her the whole story, but the pain on her mom's face is enough to prevent further questions.

Instead, the thought of seeing her cousin excites Lea and eases her stress a little. Malina left Teban almost 5 years ago. It will be so exciting to see a new place and visit with new people. Lea has never been anywhere farther than Australia on vacation last year. Suddenly, Lea realizes her mom mentioned not being at school for the test in three days.

“When do I leave?” Lea asks as questions come running through her brain almost faster than her mouth can form the sounds. She wants some explanation for her parents weird decision.

“The transport leaves in an hour,” Romo answers. Lea's mouth drops in shock. “Your mom has packed most of your things already. You need to say good-bye to the kids and we should leave right away.”

The words come out carefully, as Romo tries not to upset their daughter, but completely unsure how to explain the direness of the situation.

An hour, the words hang in the air like a boulder ready to fall. Without thinking Lea jumps up and marches into her room to see what her mom has packed. She still can't believe what is happening.

She glances first at the mural painted on the walls and smiles, thinking that she still needs to finish the murals covering her walls and ceiling. She is not really a very talented painter. She has great ideas and lots of dedication but her fingers just can't reproduce the beautiful pictures she creates in her head. She is getting better, but any addition takes several attempts before it resembles an object or animal a person would recognize.

She painted her room a lovely shade of light blue to look like the clear sky scrubbed clean after a storm. She added fluffy white clouds that looked slightly like lumpy sea foam and barely anything like actual clouds. She tried to fix them, but they are now three dimensional lumps because of all the layers of paint she has applied to fix the errors. Everyone assures her they look great, but she has her doubts.

Under the lumpy clouds is a V formation of winged slug like creatures that were supposed to be birds flying. It makes Lea laugh though to think of flying slugs, so she left them untouched to joyfully soar across her indoor sky. When the room is dark the night sky is visible, arranged in small pinpoints of fluorescent paint recreating the constellations of the southern hemisphere. A few larger circles are supposed to be planets and one slanted comet streaks across toward the clothes cupboard.

A rainbow fills one corner of the room, falling from the bright yellow sun painted on the ceiling into a puddle of color at the floor. Lea loves spending humid, but sunny days on the beach in hopes of seeing a rainbow for real.

Squid crawls out from under the bed. Anger flicks in Lea's heart for a moment when she considers having to leave him. Squid is a small furry rare mammal that was saved from the ocean after a storm. He was trying to swim, but is not a water animal. He has webbed feet but can't hold his breath at all. He has short light yellow hair and brown eyes. His floppy ears perk up when he hears her come home each day and his long fluffy tail waves back and forth whenever he is excited.

When he arrived no one in the community had ever seen an animal like him and the zoo wanted to take him, study him, and “take care of him properly.” They probably would have taken him if Lea's mom hadn't used her influence as Queen to make a request. The animal keepers took him to their facility to observe and study him for a few days, but then he was returned to Lea to keep as a pet. Moana asked the keepers to come to their home and teach Lea how to properly care for him.

Squid stretches his legs as he gets up from his afternoon nap. He is so excited to see her, he licks her hand and his tail waves back and forth hitting against her leg over and over. Mom will have to take Squid for a run each morning, Lea thinks and that makes her smile. Her mom will actually have to exercise like she's been saying she should for years now.

Lea's clothes cupboard is nearly empty and it looks like her mom has grabbed everything she'll need. Lea reaches into a small nook under the head of her bed that her mom doesn't know about where she keeps her diary and a few special keepsakes. She grabs all of the items and stuffs her pockets full.

Worried by her abrupt departure, her parents followed Lea into her room. Her mom explains that she has only packed the clothes that will be appropriate for the weather and fashion in Catalina. Her dad grabs her hand and directs her to sit on the bed next to her mom.

“Lea, there is more we need to tell you about Catalina. Malina doesn't actually live in the Catalina Community.” Taking a deep breath he continues, “Malina lives.....”

Romo is interrupted as Lea is attacked by a small boy chased by his little sister. Saun, her brother, runs into Lea so hard, she actually slips off the bed and crashes onto the floor. The two children pile on top her in a tangle of banged heads, knocking the wind out of her slightly. Once she can breath again, Lea starts to laugh at Tianna who is still yelling at her brother. Saun waves a stolen doll in the air to keep it away. Tianna jumps on him again clawing and scratching to get it back. Poor Tianna, thinks Lea, she doesn't realize how lucky she is to have a big brother to torment her. Lea laughs again at the determined scowl on her sister's face and the mischievous grin on her brother's.

Untangling her children and helping Lea to her feet, Moana turns to her husband and tells him it is time for them to leave. She whispers to him that he will have to explain after he and Lea check in at the station. Romo picks up her bag and Lea grabs a special stuffed animal, a small dolphin she received as a baby from her grandparents on her first Spring Equinox. For eleven years, Moby has been her comfort whenever life was hard. 

Lea rough draft chapter 3

Lea's hair flows behind her as she glides through the clear water above her community. She looks through the deep waters of the South Pacific. Some distance from any mainland, a beautiful island surfaces. Along the coast, the small town of Teba lies surrounded by a colorful little reef filled with all sorts of animals and plants growing there.

Amazing schools of fish in all shapes and colors are chased by bigger fish, sharks, and large squids. Sea weeds grow from the bottom of the ocean all the way to the surface of the water and others grow from the from the roofs of the sea caves down to the depths along the bottom. Shell fish and crabs skitter over rocks and through grasses chasing after small fish and tiny microscopic creatures.

The life of this small community revolves around the hours of the tides each day. Fisherman wake up early every morning and leave the warmth of their homes to haul in food to sell at the market. Men and women grow fruits, vegetables, and seeds for the market too. Each morning before work, parents come to browse the food, clothes, or home goods for sale and children come to search for new toys or exciting treats.

Teba is in many ways just like other small towns around the world. Store owners sweep the walkway and prepare to open for the day, folding clothing for display or dusting furniture for sale. Piles of juicy fruits and colorful vegetables fill tables and woven hanging baskets in the grocery store. The mouth watering flavor of fresh baked breads and biscuits are arranged in the shop window to attract more customers. Artisans of all kinds work hard to prepare their products to sell.

Children play with small toys made from shells and sea glass that surround the community or pieces of drift wood brought in by the tides. Today, one small boy bounces a pooro ball along the dark stone walkway passing the front of his mother's health care office. Old men sit in the dining room of a restaurant and play table games. They debate world problems and gossip. Old ladies sit and sew or weave and debate the towns problems and gossip about the old men. Older children attend school and complain about their home work. Moms and dads take care of their families, cook dinner, wash laundry, and make the kids clean their rooms.

In a quiet corner of Teba lives the small family Ariki. They are very much like many other families in many other communities. They live in a medium size home in a moderate part of the town. From the outside, their house looks just like all their neighbors houses lined up in a row. Sea grasses cut short lead up to the front entrance and a colorful vegetable patch grows in a circle outside the kitchen window. Flowered curtains can be seen from outside the window and the pathway leading to their home lined with stones is well cared for and neat.

This family eats breakfast together most mornings and takes turns fixing dinner in the evenings. Surrounding their table every night they tell stories of the exciting parts of their day and any news from their neighbors and friends.

Every morning the father goes to his workshop and furniture store. He builds tables and chairs, wardrobes and cupboards in any style or fashion a person can think of. He loves to paint them in bright colors and add decorations of shells or stones he collects around the community. Because most of the houses look the same from the outside, Tebans love to show off their personalities on the inside and Romo happily creates anything a person could want.

The younger two Ariki children, Saun and his little sister Tianna, stay at home with a neighbor while their mom spends the morning at her office. Children in Teba do not attend school until the year they will turn 12. Their parents and family teach them to read and write and basic math. Every child can study whatever parts of science they think are interesting. Because they are home or shopping, they get to know to all different types of people. They can watch a baker making cookies or a builder carving out a new home. They learn from everyone in the community and can choose what they want to be when they grow up. When they start school they will study the skills for their chosen apprenticeship.

The oldest Ariki daughter, Lealeiani, studies about all sorts of places around the world. She learns all about the people who live there, what food they eat, clothes they wear, and what type of King or President they have. She learns about mountains and oceans, engineering and economics. She is most interested in plants and animals and has learned to sing a little of the language of the whales and dolphins that live around Teba.

But most important to Lea's parents is that she study history. In the Ariki family, history is not just stories of too long ago and people nobody remembers. The history of their community is also the history of their family because Moana Ariki, Lea's mom, is the Queen of Teba.

In Teba there are no grand palaces filled with jewels and servants. There are not kilometers of land or knights and armies to support. The Queen of Teba lives just like the other families she serves. She meets dignitaries in her sitting room. She invites Kings and Queens of other communities to eat at home with her family. Just last night she even allowed the president of a neighboring foreign community to help her cook in her kitchen.

President Giomo Manu spent the evening sharing recipes and hilarious stories about his nephew who he hopes will one day be President too. Moana could have the type of life Kings and Queens usually have but like her father before her, she chose to live simply and serve her people.

One day Lealiki will be Queen. The oldest royal child grows up knowing that on their 34^th birthday they will take over the job managing the city. It is a great responsibility to be in charge of a community. She will handle the day in and day out running of the city and the one great secret of Teba. It is something that all the Kings and Queens have known since the creation of Teba but few other people have discovered. It is a secret often disastrous to those who learn it because it is so incredible.