Saturday, December 10, 2016

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2003. We took Mattie to Lowe's in hopes of capturing a photo of him by the trees and Christmas lights. Mattie was a year and a half old and it was practically impossible to get him to sit still for a photo. We knew it would never work at home. There were certain stores that Mattie liked like Target, Lowes, and Home Depot. Given that Lowes and Home Depot sell Christmas lights and trees, I figured there would be adequate stimulation there and a holiday background for a good photo. This photo was NOT the one that landed on the front of our card, but I think it was priceless nonetheless.  


Quote of the day: Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more! ~ Dr. Seuss

We were invited this afternoon to a Winter Concert presented by Halau O'Aulani, which is a non profit that teaches and perpetuate the cultures, traditions and values of the People of Hawaii through dances, languages, arts, music, history and customs.

Mattie's preschool teacher, Lana, gave us two tickets to this show. Lana has been involved with this organization for twenty years. She is married to a man from Hawaii, and I learned that this non profit provides the only school of its kind on the East coast. Children and adults attend the school every Sunday and share culture, music, and dance together. 

The first part of the concert featured more traditional Hawaiian pieces. After the intermission, the show highlighted Christmas music. The first part of every song was sung in Hawaiian, followed by singing in English. It was very energizing and at one point, we were all asked to stand and hold hands. Even reaching across the aisles in the audience. Everyone felt united in song. 

One of the songs sung was White Christmas. Watching the symbolic dancing set to White Christmas was very special. Though I did not record their version, I did find a similar one on line so you can see what I am talking about. 

White Christmas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nevoyxvkt9g

The organization invited youth in the audience who study with them, to come to the stage twice. It was wonderful to see how they are learning their cultural art form. Some of the teen males in the audience were outstanding. 

While we were watching the performance, we thought we recognized two people. It turns out that Emily and Matthew are two of the leaders of this group. I met Emily through my friend Mary. Emily was in nursing school at Georgetown and now works at National Children's Medical Center. Both Emily and Matthew volunteer for Mattie Miracle and run our challenge wall at each of our walks. It was amazing to see them out of that context and to see how they spend their weekends. 

Would this have been something Peter and I would have naturally chosen to see? Probably not. But we enjoyed it and especially loved getting away from our constant Foundation weekend work. So the true gift that Lana shared with us today.... was a break filled with music, dance, and the opportunity to learn more about the Hawaiian culture.