After leaving Hawai’i, we moved to pretty Alexandria, next to Washington, D.C. Unknown to me, it was then that champagne wishes, and caviar dreams of living in Valencia had started to take shape. I was busy trying to establish care for my daughter and keeping up with a demanding job, but I was clear that Val was moving to Spain in the following year.

Before we arrived in sunny Valencia, we used to live in Hawai’i! It is a lovely community, full of different cultures, and we never thought we would leave, but life sneaks up on you and plans change. We have never been wealthy, by the way; instead, we have achieved all of it by staying together as a family (like the Hawaiians), and through the love and support of others around us.