Over the weekend I got invited to a paint party hosted by my sister in law just for fun! The house was beautifully decorated with Christmas trees, lights, and trinkets. They made festive food and snacks and the activity was painting a Christmas Gnome. Sitting there painting a gnome and having a wonderful time I realized that I haven’t done recreational painting in maybe 7 years! It was such a relief to know that nobody had to like or see it after. I brought it home and gave it to my daughter to be her little Christmas buddy and her face lit up. It gave me a second realization that it’s also been 7 years since I painted something just for my daughter  - Aue! How sad. I think the whole experience just really reminded me that life is going by too fast and there are beautiful moments that can happen when we make space for them and slow down. This holiday season I just wish you have the time and space for those moments to happen for you!

We got to hang out with Ekolu from Leo Kuahiwi last weekend for a few hours. He’s a native speaker from Niihau and was on Oahu for some language related meetings as a valued leader in the Hawaiian language community. Hanging out with him was incredible. The way he so fluidly uses his language to tell stories, joke and be playful, and convey true emotion from a Hawaiian perspective makes me so hopeful that one day we might all be able to get there or if not us maybe our children or grandchildren. We have to remember that speaking as our native speaking kupuna did is always the goal no matter how close or far we are to it.

Oh! And dream come true, he showed me how to make one type of Niihau shell jewelry. If you're a fellow crafter and creative you know exactly what I mean when I said this brought me the purest joy!