Really Missing My Grandparents Today...

[Miss them so much!!!]

I am really, really missing my grandparents today!!!

It has been a year since my grandpa passed away and almost 10 years since my grandma passed away, and there isn't a day that goes by that I haven't thought about them or wondered how they would have advised me on certain situations or decisions I have made or just what the overall conversation would be like about different world events that have taken place.

Today is their birthday. They were born on the same day just different years and although they shared so much in common their personalities were very different. My grandmother was very outspoken and assertive and my grandfather was much more quiet and reserved, but they both shared a deep love for the Lord, their family, the Tongan culture and especially for Education!

Oh... how I miss him and my grandma dearly!!! I truly have been blessed to have them in my life! It is only now, when I reflect back on my life, that I realize the importance of what they have taught me. I realize more than ever before how keenly aware they were of the world and how focused they were on their goal to raise a next generation of young people who would be rooted in our native Tongan culture but learn to carve out their own space in this new society.

They valued indigenous Tongan knowledge and even when it seemed that assimilation was the only way to be successful in this society, they refused to conform-- but instead engaged in personal acts of self-determination by making the Tongan language mandatory in our home, by telling us stories of their upbringing, by teaching us traditional Tongan proverbs and history, and by teaching us respect, love, and kindness, from a Tongan perspective.

I cannot deny how much this has shaped my consciousness, influenced my choices and has guided the work that I do! When you are raised around that kind of environment, you cannot help but to innately know that you must give back some how!

I know that they are rejoicing together today and I hope that they both know how much I love, respect, and honor their memory, everything they stood for, and all that they have taught me!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA & GRANDPA!!!!

'OFA LAHI ATU!!!!


[back in the day kickin' it with Grams and Gramps... LOL!]


[another generation of kids kickin' it with Gramps]