Kilauea Eruption Part 6: Coping

May 14-15

By Jill Steele

Author "Blood on the Orchids"

It is a challenge, but I think we are doing okay living in the now and facing our fears about the lava flow.  I continue to work each morning at my flower business and write each afternoon and my husband continues to maintain and beautify the landscapes around our neighborhood.

Our senses are heightened-each moment seems more meaningful and our hearts are probably beating a bit faster than normal with the knowledge that miles away lava is exploding from the earth (we hear it).  

We took another bike ride to view the lava today around noon.  It looked less explosive than last night.  We needed to see it with our own eyes and not through the eyes of a lava chaser seeking to become  an internet star.  It stops us from continuously watching footage for hours on end.  

My husband seems positively energized by this development in our lives, washing windows that have long needed washing and planting new tropical flowers around our property to grow, hopefully for years to come and show Pele we are worthy of caring for her aina.

By Jill Steele

Author "Blood on the Orchids"