to my father

i don't speak much of my father. in all honesty, i think that i try to avoid it so i don't end up getting emotional. i'm not sure if that's a decent excuse or not, but to prevent those around me from feeling uncomfortable or awkward from a possible breakdown on my end, i'd rather just not go there.
but after almost 5 years of having a blog and being that today would have marked his 60th birthday, i feel that i owe him at least a post so that i can really express my endless love and appreciation for this great man and father of mine. because he really was amazing...

his name is royal nikora. he was born on october 30, 1951 near Hastings, New Zealand. he went to the church college of new zealand and upon graduating went on to graduate from an auto mechanic trade school. my mom tells me that he heard about an opportunity to be an authentic maori performer at a tourist attraction in hawaii (yeah, you know what's coming...). he was recruited to work at the polynesian cultural center and that's how he met my beautiful mother. =) she also worked at the center as a "ticket-taker". apparently he wanted to ask her out on a date but he felt that he didn't have enough money to take her out. she heard about his intentions through the grapevine and felt a bit of sympathy for the poor guy working in the maori village...so she went ahead and asked HIM out! they married in the laie, hawaii temple on december 7, 1974.

he worked as a bus mechanic for the bus transportation system, and i remember him absolutely loving his job. he had to leave laie at 5 each morning to get to work on time, but he was always positive about his daily work. i recall each day that he came home, he would drive up onto the grass. if i was outside in the yard playing, i would run up to him for hugs and kisses, and he would always happily oblige. he became the bishop of our ward when i was about 12 years old, so he was one busy guy. i suppose you could say that the rest is history - and 12 grandbabies later:

our entire family met at the graveyard today to celebrate this remarkable man's life. afterwards, we had a birthday dinner at my brother's house and watched old home videos of him together. i really treasure these times together as a family because i know that it may not always be very easy for all of us to be together at the same time. i understand that our time here on this earth is limited, so every moment with those you love the most is definitely precious.

there isn't a day that goes by that i don't think of my dad, or wish he was still here with me. sometimes i wonder how my life would have turned out or what i would be like if he were still around...

i guess that there's a lot of variables in life. but what i do know is that i love and miss him terribly. i know that i'm still lucky to have a wonderful man for a father. and i know that i'll see him again...and that's enough to put a smile on my face.

not so little nui

each morning after waking up, i begin to get ready for work and brandon makes breakfast for the kids as well as ahonui's lunch for school. the other morning i had the task of waking the boy for another day at preschool. it usually begins with a gentle kiss on his little cheek, and a softly-spoken "time to wake up, son. gotta go to school." in his little ear...but no response.

so it escalates to a nudge and a hug, with a not-so-quiet song: "good mornin'! good MOORNING! you SLEPT the whole night through..."...but still nothing - except a puddle of drool.

and so i must graduate to the whole ordeal of picking him up, shaking him and firmly exclaiming, "come ON, ahonui!!! daddy's got breakfast for you!" which, of course, leads to the groggy fussing and dragging of heavy feet to the living room. this behavior only lasts a minute or so, but as i laid next to him on the oh-so-comfy morning bed, i was thinking to myself...he's 4. only 4 years old! how the heck am i gonna handle him when he's a TEENAGER?!

i am definitely not looking forward to the teenage years. not only because it'll be a nightmare trying to wake him up each morning, but i'm thinking more along the lines of - incoming phone calls from female(s) with the cringing sound, "can talk to ahonui?"...or his requests of "ma, where's da car keys?"

deep breath. i do have another 10 or so years before any of these agonizing situations actually occur. he is only in preschool...but those situations really do pass through my head every so often.
he completed his first year of preschool in may, but since he doesn't turn 5 until this january he can't begin kindergarten until next august. so he is now going through his second round of preschool which is allowing him more time to perfect his reading & name-writing skills...

he also had his first may day performance. when else? in may.it was held in the CAC with the kahuku elementary school may day program. it was themed "we love rock & roll" so the boys had blow-up guitars and spray painted hair, along with a one-handed michael jackson glove. and i must say, those preschoolers are darn cute...and talented!

also in may, the little guy's graduation from his first year of preschool. i'm pretty sure he was going through the motions at graduation...and probably during most of the school year. but now that he's one of the oldest (and definitely one of the biggest), his teachers say that he's now a leader in class...letting the rest of the kids know how things are done, where things go, stuff lydat. kinda proud of my little nui.

his last doctor checkup & physical showed that he has perfect vision, is in the 80th percentile for weight, 90th percentile for height, and 70th percentile for BMI. so in other words, a normal polynesian little boy. we love our big little guy!