Leif - Hawaii - December 1985 - Almost 11 Years Old

When we lived in Hawaii, Leif's fifth grade class from Red Hill Elementary School did a production of a Hawaiian version of "Hansel and Gretel" which they performed at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center on December 15, 1985. Leif wasn't in the actual production but I don't remember whether he had any other "job" as a part of it. The larger context of this photo shows him between two huge gingerbread men. I don't know what he is holding up. It doesn't look like a toy or something he would have brought along with him from home, so perhaps he was helping to set something up. I wish I knew.

I love the beaming smile on his face. He really looks like he is enjoying himself. I find myself looking and looking at the photos of his life, trying to discern whether there was real happiness, and even though we try to get people to smile for the camera, you can usually tell whether it is a really joyful smile or not. I can see times when Leif was really happy, and times when he looked thoughtful, vulnerable, and sometimes even sad long before he was an adult. But what makes me glad is how many good times he  had . . . we ALL had together, during the years he was growing up. He must have wondered a million times why they didn't continue once he left home. We wonder, too.