ALOHA:

A, ala, watchful, alertness
L, lokahi, working with unity
O, oia’i’o, truthful honesty
H, ha’aha’a, humility
A, ahonui, patient perseverance

The famous Hawaiian priest, David Bray,  interprets ALOHA to mean “Come forward, be in unity and harmony with your real self, God, and mankind. Be honest, truthful, patient, kind to all life forms, and humble.” He also stated that to the Hawaiian of old, Aloha meant “God in us.”

Just who is UkuleleMom?  What am I all about?  Well, first and foremost, I am a mom. I’m also married to the greatest human on the planet, who as luck would have it, happens to be my babies’ father.  And by babies, I mean my 15 year old teenager who is scared to death  I will embarrass him by writing this blog and my 13 year old daughter who happens to have Down Syndrome and a sweet but sassy attitude.  I cannot tell you how much I love my family.  They are my earth, my wind, my sky; my entire world. I also love all things Hawaiian.  And when I say ‘all things’, I mean, ALL THE THINGS that are Hawaiian.  The trees, the lava, the ocean, the honus (that’s sea turtle, to you mainland folk), the food, the waterfalls, the dolphins, the music, the language, the air, the valleys, the traditions, the spirit, the locals, the ukuleles, the spam… ok, maybe not the spam.  But you get the idea.

Raising my kids in Texas while longing to live in Hawaii has required that I get creative in trying to live the aloha spirit everyday.  I started playing the ukulele last year when I found that listening to Hawaiian music and eating lilikoi jam everyday just wasn’t enough.  You can’t help but be happy when you’re playing the ukulele so I try to play everyday.  On the days that I can’t, I just have to spend some time with my ‘ohana (‘family’) and that usually does the trick.  Usually.

I mostly write this blog for me, to be honest.  And for my family.  I want us to be able to remember all the little details about these awesome trips that we are so fortunate to take. But this blog can also be for anyone else that wants to get more ALOHA out of life. While there will be lots of talk about Hawaii (of course!) I think I might want to also explore other topics like gratitude, friendship, nature, peacefulness, love, special needs, beauty, o’hana, and of course, music!

ALOHA and MAHALO for joining me on this journey!

-Angela

Me and the hubs at our favorite Farmer’s Market on the Big Island… the first day of our 2015 vacation, so I was extra happy.  (He was too, that’s just how he smiles.  Trust me.)

 

 

 

 

My first ukulele… hopefully not my last.  For anyone that is interested, it’s a Kanile’a K-1 Concert Satin Finish with a Koa wood body.