A few more beautiful blessings

Anytime we reopen a restaurant (and I've been through five of them, thanks to COVID), it is both exciting and nerve wracking. The pressure is on, and nerves are frayed. Fortunately, there is often one night that it is more about celebration, camaraderie, hugs, laughter and prayers for a smooth sailing ahead. One of our owners, Eric, who is part-Hawaiian, believes very strongly in the power of having a traditional Hawaiian blessing before we reopen any restaurant. And he always reaches out to Kahu (Rev) Danny 'Kaniela' Akaka, Jr (his father was the legendary Senator, Daniel Akaka) and his wife, Anna to perform the blessing.

Kahu Akaka, Anna, and my two bosses/mentors, Scott & Eric...

I received two lei on that evening...the ti leaf from Scott/Eric, and the ginger lei from another incredible woman, Trin...who has known Scott/Eric for over 30 years. She is etched into the fabric of LHG. Both leis are very symbolic and meaningful to me, because of who they are from.

In other great news...we got the gift of celebrating another birthday with my father (#74 if I'm doing the math correctly) a few weeks ago. Since my mom was having a rare 'good day,' they could leave the house, and we got to break bread at Huggo's...where we were treated like VIPs by the GM and her team. The best gift of all, for my dad, was that my mother was able to leave the house and eat!

And the ongoing single greatest blessing that we get to experience each month, is when Ryan gets together with some of the sweetest humans on Earth. We are so blessed to have met these kids, as they are all smart, considerate and polite. The snarkiest would be my child *groan* (because honestly, where did he learn such a dry humor)? If you answered, "Rich," I believe you are correct. Because I think we all know I'm more of a older, conservative, southern lady, manners-wise...

I almost forgot we had lots to be thankful for on Thanksgiving, too! Earlier in the day, we went to the Wobble & Gobble to encourage and support my two nieces to participate (they did for years, until COVID closed it down for two years). It was a race that all the kids (Keni/Riki/Ryan) did when they were younger, and we want to continue to encourage them to do it with their younger cousins...it's super fun and we always have an amazing time.

Riki blazed the mile in a little over 7 min, even though he hadn't run in months at school...

Ryan decided he would shadow Arianna...

While Joel and I shadowed Olivia...and Rich was the photographer.

The girls had a FABULOUS time, and for that reason, the rest of us did too!

Right after the race, we all rushed home to get our Thanksgiving meal ready. Although my mother was not well enough for the first time in 52 years to host the meal or cook a turkey (we were just grateful she could even attend)...EVERYONE else stepped up to help. Mostly it was Jon, my oldest brother, as he is BY FAR the most adept in the kitchen, thanks to a career largely spent in the culinary field. 

Fun fact: I have never purchased or cooked a turkey, ever. Or a chicken. Or a roast. Or ribs. Or a ham. Large hunks of meat are not exactly my wheelhouse. Not prepping, cooking or eating them. I'm all about the side dishes? Scalloped or mashed potatoes?! YES, please. Stuffing? Green bean casserole? A-men!!! Pumpkin cheesecake? I've died and gone to heaven!

Jon made the turkey, stuffing, creamed potatoes in butter, garlic, rosemary and rock salt...and his son, Kenichi, made a smoked brisket. Riki, his other son, grilled corn and and asparagus that Joel bought, chilled a ton of drinks, and my dad made a green bean casserole/brought tiramisu and a Caesar salad. Lynne's (my SIL) dad made two, from scratch pies (custard and pumpkin), and I had a sashimi platter and made nishime for the first time (a Japanese dish that my mom likes). My dad's friend, Uncle Al, brought muffins (that made their way to some RNs). Needless to say, we had way too much food!

A few days prior to Thanksgiving, one of the electrical meters at one the restaurants I work at exploded into flames (shortly after a transfer boomed), and we had to evacuate the staff/guests. There was very little structural damage, but we had to clean an entire restaurant in the dark (after we lost power), and safely relocate thousands of pounds of Thanksgiving/regular food to a rented refrigerated truck/our other restaurant. It was quite an operation!

The staff were in good spirits...they waited on the lawn nearby and chowed down on all the food that was already on the line and would have been wasted...and then cleaned with us for hours.

Rich had a two-two night improv show, and Ryan and I were able to go one night...since I was working the other night. He lives for these opportunities to perform...and I live for opportunities to not perform. Haha. Ryan definitely has stage presence thanks to his elementary-middle school placing a huge emphasis on performance of content (and karate/taiko being in front of others)...but he is NOT one to want to stand out, either. We can't quite understand the loud white guy that lives with us sometimes! :-) 

So this about rounds up our November...which was pretty exhausting, but exhilarating as well. 

Next month looks to be similar...the first two weekends of the month, we have to get all of this done:

• Rich is hosting a Christmas party at our house for some RNs, 
• Ryan is hosting a Christmas get together with a few friends, 
• I am helping to organize a Christmas party for work for our staff, 
• I will also be attending another Christmas dinner that's an overnight trip, 
• Rich is announcing at a Christmas parade,
• I need to finish wrapping all the gifts, and mail out our Christmas cards,
• We need to pack for our upcoming trip,
• And...we somehow want to host my family over for an early Christmas!

Not super sure how that will work just yet...but we will figure it out. Aunty Jo has FOMO and doesn't like to miss a thing. It's a lot to pack in into just two weeks, but we really don't have an option. :-) LOL!