Sharing family time comes in various forms. Some are happy and exciting, some are lowkey and relaxing, and some may stem from a difficult and sad event. However, all have the possibility of creating a wonderful time of sharing.
Today was a Memorial Service for my uncle Art Ramiscal Delos Reyes at the Makai Chapel in Mililani Memorial Park on Oahu, Hawaii. The setting is very familiar to me for two reasons. First, a lot of my relatives, parents and grandparents are buried here. Second, we grew up in the surrounding areas when it was covered with sugar and pineapple fields. It was our playground and where we lived. It offered the lush landscape of Hawaii to explore and now it offers a peaceful place of rest and a place to honor.
The service leaned towards local Filipino traditions infused with features of the Hawaiian Culture.
There was Hawaiian Vocal Music with instrumental accompaniment provided by a group who were close friends of the family. The service featured remembrances from the children and a nephew and performances including a piano solo by a grandchild, a Kenpo-Karate Kata by his son, a hula by his daughter accompanied by her troupe of dancers. Prayers were offered by another nephew and a brother-in-law. Scripture Readings were done by the grandchildren. The main speaker and MC was Dave Cady, minister of the Church of Christ in Waipahu. I was asked to write and do the Eulogy.
Following the services a meal was served to all attendees in an open air fellowship hall. It consisted of two choices of Bento Boxes catered by Gyotoku Restaurant in Waiau. Prior to COVID Pandemic it was customary to serve a large catered meal and possibly have live entertainment for all who attended. During the COVID Pandemic if you were able to have a service, you could only hand out Bento Boxes and attendees leave immediately. We were thankful at this time we were allowed to enjoy the meal and fellowship together.
It was a precious time of friendship renewals, catching up with relatives rarely being together enjoying and sharing precious memories together. A phrase echoed many times was, “let’s not just meet under circumstances such as this, meaning funerals”. The reality of it all, is that I am part of a generation living their golden years and these events are inevitable and unpredictable! My cousin Sam remarked, “I always considered you Tall…, I was 5’ 9” tall at one time, now I’m just 5’ 7”. This made me realize what people value, desire and cherish, do change with age. Some things become superficial and meaningless, such as height, weight, baldness, etc. as you get old. There were compliments about the beautiful children in my family, you look very well, and that was a beautiful eulogy you delivered…, all so very sweet, welcomed and appreciated!
As I close out this event, I share one last observation. At the beginning of the service, I went through the family greeting line, just before greeting the family, I looked over the very beautiful standing wreaths and one particularly caught my eye. I looked at the card, and noted it was from Pacita’s niece from Stockton, California. Kindness, Love and Family Sharing is returned Full Fold since Linda and I had passed through Stockton and had lunch with Art’s Brother a few months prior to his passing on our drive to Mesa, Arizona.! Pacita and daughter had attended Art’s bother’s funeral in Stockton about the same time a year ago!
I encourage all of you to take advantage of each and every opportunity to Share Family Time, no matter what the circumstances are! Make a great decision and choice! You won’t regret it!