Nearly 600 students of the Mililani High School class of 2008 participated in evening’s commencement ceremony at the Aloha Stadium. A raucous crowd of proud families and friends waved signs, blasted contraband air horns, and screamed names of their loved ones.

Congratulations to our niece, Rachel, who donned her cap and gown tonight, embarking on a whole new chapter in her life. We are so proud of her!

Congratulations to all the graduates of the class of 2008! Watch out world, here they come!

It’s the end of the year and it’s time for me to create a family photo calendar for my in-laws. Ever since I started making them back in 2003, it has been an annual tradition and a gift that the family looks forward to receiving at Christmas.

This year, as I was going through my iPhoto library, I was disappointed by the lack of selection of shots. In previous years, the kids were younger and easier to get in front of the camera. Mugging for my camera was great fun for them before, now it seems they’re too cool or too busy to pose for a picture. This year seemed to be a bit more challenging, as they were always more interested in playing the Wii; running around the house, screaming their heads off; or watching TV. Gathering them for a group shot is akin to moving a mountain. Correction, moving a mountain might be less taxing.

It makes me question whether I would ever make a good baby/child photographer. Perhaps in a setting without as many distractions… but our family gatherings abound with distractions galore. Add my lack of skill with children and you have a recipe for disaster. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but it certainly doesn’t add up to many good shots.

You’d be surprised, finding 12 stunning shots can be quite the challenge. Unfortunately, this year, I couldn’t find “stunning” — so, we’ll have to settle for “above average.” To me, that’s just plain disappointing.

My first new year’s resolution on the docket: Take more pictures of family — even if I have to tie them down.

Day 25 of 30

Ala Moana Shopping Center is all decked out in its Christmas attire. The big Santa is standing tall, overlooking Ala Moana Beach Park across the street. Christmas is in the air and the retailers can smell the musky scent of cold, hard cash. On Veteran’s Day morning, the mall traffic was relatively light. Perhaps the sale seekers were sleeping in.

Since Hubby was working today (ironic since he’s a veteran), I decided to take my folks out for lunch and shopping. Recent events have really made me realize that we must make the most of opportunities to spend time with loved ones when we can. I was tempted to simply sleep in, stay home, do laundry and catch up with various projects. But, I knew spending a few hours to take the folks out would mean so much more — to them, and me. And, it did.

I hope you had a nice holiday, and for those who are serving our country (or have served in the past), I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your sacrifices do not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Happy Veteran’s Day.

Day 12 of 30

Happy 76th birthday, Mom!, originally uploaded by Champuru.

Mom’s birthday is today, so we celebrated with a mint-choco ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins. She made it clear that dinner tonight or tomorrow night is out of the question. It interferes with her University of Hawaii sports-viewing calendar. She’s a big fan, but prefers to watch on television instead of going to the event itself. Although it’s exciting once in a while, she finds the play-by-play commentary by the sportscasters and replays of televised games much more enjoyable.

She did say that she can fit us into her schedule for lunch, however. So that’s our plan!

Happy birthday, Mom! You’re the best! I love you!

Although I am an aspiring mother, I am not very good with children. In fact, if you took a poll of all the children who have had the displeasure of meeting me, I’d be voted “least favorite auntie of the century.” Perhaps it is because they can sense my unease with them. Having been raised a “lonely only” and fifteen years younger than my next youngest cousin, my exposure to babies and children was next to nil. When I married Hubby, I gained nieces and nephews, but that still didn’t awaken the maternal instincts. Although I have improved somewhat in the past 15 years since Hubby and I have met, I still feel awkward when trying to talk to children under 10. If you want to see a train wreck in progress, just leave me with a toddler and ask me to play with him.

There are some kids, however, who can put me at ease. Ryan’s 9-year-old daugther Katie is one such child. She is so open, outgoing, and friendly. We chatted for a bit when I shared half a container of homemade pickled vegetables with the Ozawas. She talked about how she didn’t like pickled daikon (takuan), but she loved spinach, much to the chagrin of her schoolmates. She identified the vegetables inside the clear container. We had a discussion about whether the green thing was a bell pepper or if it was a cucumber. She asked me to introduce her to my friends, so I did. She impressed everyone with her charm and intelligence. After a short time, she caught sight of her father walking back to his seat with an armful of food from the concession stand and she joined her family for a pre-bon dance dinner. Not long after, she skipped back to us and held out a small brown paper bag to me. I opened it and saw a pair of miniature handmade straw slippers. Pulling it out, I admired it and noticed that it was actually a refrigerator magnet.

“This is neat!” I said, “Is this for your refrigerator?”

She nodded. I put it delicately back into the sack and held it out to her.

“It’s for you!”

Genuinely surprised, I asked, “For me?”

“Yes!” she beamed. I gave her a big hug and thanked her for her thoughtfulness. She smiled, “it’s for the vegetables.”

I walked her back to her parents and thanked them for the magnet. Jen told me that Katie wanted to get me something because she really enjoyed the pickled vegetables. I thought that was the cutest thing and it touched my heart.

Maybe I’m not such a bad auntie after all?

In a conversation this morning after church, my six-year-old niece inquired, “Aunty, why is your hair frizzy today?”

At a loss for words, I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind — which, incidentally, is the real reason I am wearing my hair au naturel on the weekends, “I’m letting it relax today.”

She scrunched up her face, gave me a big “phhhhbbbbttthh!” and laughed as if to say, “aunty, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard in my entire six-year-old life!”

Kids say the darnedest things, don’t they?

Perhaps this is the reason I don’t yet have kids. I don’t know how to talk to them in a way that doesn’t cause them to lose control of their bodily functions and burst into uncontrollable laughter at inappropriate times. That’s just embarrassing. Dang it.

Mom blows out the candles on her ice cream cake as Dad looks on.
Happy Birthday, Mom!

Mom turned 75 today.

It’s hard for me to believe that she’s 75. Mom and Dad have been blessed with health and a strength of spirit that I admire. As we celebrate these milestone birthdays, it scares me a little to see how the passage of time seems to pick up speed with every passing year. With the busyness that consumes my every waking moment, I often feel like life is passing me by. When I saw how truly happy and appreciative Mom was to have some of my undivided attention tonight, it made me realize that I need to refocus my priorities and spend more time with my family.

Working full-time and attending school has been a major burden for me and now that I have only 3 more days on my academic calendar before my last class officially ends, I feel like I can now have a good chunk of my life back to do the things that I never had time to do. I know it will be a challenge not to simply fill the void with even more busyness and activity. One of the things that I know I want to do is make time to take my parents out for shopping/lunch/dinner/movies on a regular basis. I don’t want to live with regrets, knowing that I didn’t give them the time that they always unselfishly gave me as I was growing up.

The older I get, the more I learn about what is truly important. Family is one of those things.

Happy birthday, Mom! I love you.