family Archives

Lost

When I was a kid, I wandered away from my mom once. Okay, twice. I must've been really young the first time, as it's all quite hazy. We were at Longs at Pearlridge, I hadn't a care in the world, and suddenly, I was by myself. I got scared and cried, a nice lady took me somewhere in back, a "lost boy" page went out over the PA system, and I was quickly rescued.

The second time, I was definitely old enough to know better. Read on...

Parenthood

Honestly, it wasn't so long ago that such an obsessive focus on children annoyed the hell out of me. So it's still a little weird when I step back and realize that I'm sitting at that table in a restaurant — you know, the one with all the poop talk and the Cheerios all over the floor and the kids and babies squealing and knocking things over. Now that I'm on the other side of that glare, all I can say is, don't worry... we often think we're insane, too. Read on...

Uninvited

I don't like discussing religion. I steadfastly refuse to engage in discussion about my religion or anyone else's. I consider myself a Catholic. If you ask me, I will tell you that, but I will not utter another word on the subject. The only exception to this rule is if the person asking the questions is my priest or another church-authority-type person. It is simply not any of anyone else's business; nor is it any of mine which church someone else goes to or what he believes. Read on...

Innocence, Love and Purity

When I hold my grandson (ooh that sounds so good), there is so much memories coming back into my mind at the same time. I have to tell my mind to slow down and replay each one in slow motion. My little Antonio has no idea that his Grandma is a bit off the walls, yet, he sleeps soundly in my arms. His birth has lessened the pain in which I feel physically as well as mentally. It has taken away the heartbreak that was still lingering over Mark. It has lessened the worries of my other two children a bit, but are still ever present, 24/7, in my mind. Most of all he has brought his mother (my baby) and I back together! He is our miracle and real life angel! Read on...

Kick It!

As a geeky dad, few things scare me more than the possibility of having an athletic kid. Katie starts soccer on Thursday. While Jen laments becoming, at last, a soccer mom, it falls to me to actually practice with her. For a grown man who still has his childhood instinct to flee from any area where balls are in motion, it will not be easy. Read on...

Welcome to the Dollhouse

We are now the proud owners of two singing anorexic bimbo dolls. Katie got a toy store gift card in her stocking and, foolishly, I promised her she could spend it on whatever she wanted. And she wanted the other doll's partner in crime. She had her dad rip it right out of the box on the way home, and the minute she walked through the door, she found the first one and set them off at the same time. They're designed to sing in harmony, you see. They sing a duet. Read on...

Officer Daniel Sellers

Recently, I was diagnosed with a disease that is robbing me of everything I am. The pressure has been building rapidly. The man I love, left me when I told him of my disease. Five years and no more. Yesterday, I recieved news of an accident which involved my son’s unit. Read on...

Introducing Our Daughter...

The Ukulele Saga

"Are you sitting down?" Every time Mom has said that to me, someone's died, and when she called today, I thought, All the elders are gone...who could it possibly be?

That lightswitch fight-or-flight instinct snapped on, when death is suddenly in your face and all the hairs on your body stand 90 degrees on your skin, when your breath stops and your heart clinches, and every finger of every nerve in your body--braces.

"I have some news for you."

Wasn't that yesterday?

Today Alex is a month old. I'm absolutely astonished by how much he's changed and grown, even though it's not like I haven't seen it all before.

He seems like a different baby in the morning from the little thing we swaddled up the night before. Every time I come home and see him again, I feel like I've been gone for weeks. His eyes open that much wider, and sparkle that much brighter... and he howls that much louder.

Are the newest cloned mouses, robots?

My mouse contracted rabies a few weeks ago, and as any reasonable person would do, I went off to CompUSA and purchased a cordless mouse and cordless keyboard. Da one that is sold together as a set. "Logtech" brand in case you're curious.

Well, I discovered something about the new rodent this day in the startrek log. With my arms folded across me chest, with the cordless mouse against my ribcage or stuck under my armpit, I can still navigate abouts on whatever page is currently displayed on the computer screen by using the mouse's up and down buttons as well as the scroll wheel in the usual way, even though, the mouse's infrared beam is directed at a 90 to 180 degrees offset to the deskbound receiver's cradle seated near the computer monitor. Terrific mouse dis one. Almost like one John Kerry reporting for duty.

Posthumous Hapa

The matter of Dad's remains is a morbid and tragic one, and in the many years since his "interment," I've avoided thinking about it altogether, because it is as painful as it is irreconcilable.

I find the constitution to write about it now because--in a morbid and tragic way--his memorial(s) are a pure and perfect metaphor for the enigma that is my ancestral identity.

--And tingeing this narrative with a drop or two of black humor is appropriate and accomodating, as it alleviates a bit of the lugubriousness and conveys the high level of absurdity.

Ringing and Spinning

Our first night in Mililani, even with all the windows thrown open like giant, hungry ears, the world was distressingly silent. It seemed like something less than nothing, a negative space, the rare bark of a dog or chirp of a gecko the only proof that we weren't sealed off in a vacuum. I became hyperaware of things I'd rarely noticed before: the click of my ankle as I walked, the sound of Katie's fingernails as she scratched an itch, the water heater clicking off. I woke myself up with the sound of my own snoring.

It was strange. So many things had changed in the previous few weeks, but it was the quiet that I seemed to notice most.

Care Packages

I've learned that there's a fine art to preparing a care package -- especially one that is going overseas through military channels.

There's a great deal preparation that goes into it. Boxing, packaging, ziplocking, bubble wrapping, and taping... lots and lots of tape. My boxes often look as though the entire surface of the box has been laminated. I take pride in doing everything I can to ensure that my package gets to Hubby with its precious cargo in tact.

Mainland Passenger Boarding

I want to go home because I miss my family, and I want them to share in the experience of raising my baby, Beckett. But I'm selfish, and I want to stay in Hawaii where it's beautiful, and easy, and people still let you in when you put on your blinker to change lanes. Every time I think about leaving these islands, I can feel the tears filling up my eyes, and I have to choke back the desire to cry. I feel like my heart is breaking when I imagine myself as a visitor instead of as a part of this place.

Military Deployment

The war in Iraq has reached across the ocean, into my idyllic little island life, and touched my family. My husband discovered, the day before Thanksgiving (which coincidentally was also our 10th wedding anniversary), that his Army Reserves unit is being deployed to Iraq. It makes me wonder how many others in the HawaiiStories ohana have been affected by this war. Do you have family or friends in Iraq? If so, how are you coping? I'm even thinking of creating some kind of online support network for Hawaii families who have loved ones overseas.

Islanders and Death

I don't mean to start the week off on a morbid note, but I think it's important this post finally makes it's way into cyberspace.

For as long as I can remember, we've always treated our dead relatives as though they were still alive. We spent this past Memorial Day journeying as a family to three separate graveyards, depositing flowers into chipped vases and observing detailed headstones. Each headstone was greeted as though the person were still alive.

The First

I've been wandering around HawaiiStories for some time, getting my feet wet. Now I'm comfortable enough to make my introduction

Aloha ohana!

alright.. so here i am trying to belong! i am new here and wanted to give a "BIG ALOHA" to everyone here! my name is Heidi and i want to get familliar with everyone here!

you peeps are awesome from the posts i have been reading! and also, i do get a good laugh! I have been reading Hawaii Stories for a while and thought... well... kewl! why not ask if i can be a part of this big ohana!

New Year's

So how are you ringing in the New Year? Western calendar, I mean. Fireworks (with $25 permits and nothing to buy)? Drunken revelry (with a designated driver)? Church or other worship (over the din of pyrotechnics)? A nap and a brief visit by Dick Clark on TV? What's your traditional way of crossing over to the next 365 blank pages? Is there any rich, cultural meaning, or is it all about fun?

The Day, The Aftermath

Certainly, Christmas and the (non-denominational) "holiday season" is all about love, and peace, and joy, and giving and sharing with your fellow man (or women or bi/quadruped). But getting has it's appeal, too. What did you want this year? What did you receive as a gift this year? Be it a 4 megapixel digital camera or a sweet kiss under the mistletoe... do tell!

Gillian Emerges Fighting

We probably missed the Ozawa's a few time and didn't even know it. My wife was at Kapiolani for the past three weeks. First two for pre-term labor and the last for the actual birth of Gillian.

Born premature at 32 weeks, Gillian got lucky. She is still in the NICU, but is doing good. No problems with breathing (which was a major concern), etc.--a fighter. She's active and it's just a matter of putting some weight on her since she only weighs a little under 4 lbs right now.

For the time being, she'll remain under the care of NICU (although she was moved to the second floor yesterday, because other babies with more serious problems needed the space in the NICU).

No estimate as to when Gillian will be home, but it's okay. We want her as strong as possible when she meets the rest of the family.

Ozawa Family

Ryan, Jen, Katie, and Zac. Thoughts and prayers for the family are being sent. Blessings & healings to you all.

Chow mein mainland style

The first time I ordered chinese food at college I recieved celery fried with chicken over rice when I ordered chow mein. I thought the restaurant had screwed up the order. The second time I got the same chicken and celery deal I knew it couldn't be a mistake. It seems that chowmein ceases to mean fried skinny noodles with veges and meats once you crossover the Pacific Ocean. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't mein mean NOODLES?!

So beware when ordering chinese take out on the mainland!