RJ....

Words to describe my Dad: strict, practical, honest, dependable, hard working, frugal, humble and definitely stubborn. My brothers and sisters and even my husband always say that I'm so much like him, I even have a nickname (RJ: Ron Junior)- I get teased the most by my sisters! I always brush it off and tell them that I just look like him, other then that I am my own person. How ever I have been catching myself doing the things he use to do, saying the things he use to say, and understanding that I tic just like him. My Dad grew up in Samoa and he didn't have a lot of material things and had very little money. When we use to ask for money for lunch- my Dad was always dumbfounded at how much lunch cost for us, he use to tell us that in Samoa his lunch was a coconut and that was it. My sisters and I always had very long hair, and my dad would teach us the rule of a pea, always use just a pea size of shampoo/conditioner, and toothpaste- and that is all you need. I played a lot of sports growing up, and grew really fast vertically when I was younger (now I'm growing horizontally) and my Dad would buy me shoes that were 3 sizes too big so that I would eventually grow into them and keep them longer. Now I realized why I was soooo clumsey, and why I always tripped over myself- but that is a different story. My Day was a saver and was very tight with money, and when we would ask for fast food, his response was "we have food at home". My Dad was always self-employed but in addition he had another job at the Laie temple doing maintenance so that we could all have health insurance. He would wake up every morning at 4am to clean the inside of the visitors center and the outside grounds, and he would have us help him on the weekends. The temple is very prestine, and orderly- so we would be half asleep and doing our little jobs and if it wasn't good enough then we would half to do it again. When we vaccumed it had to be prefect, the vacuum lines had to be straight and exact- I have nigtmares of straight and perfect vaccumed lines till this day- lol! Lately I have really been thinking about the lesson learned from my Dad, and have not appreciated it until I lived on my own, and started my own family. I'm teaching my son the rule of a pea, because Vete won't have it he's is a pretty boy and needs his globs of conditoner-lol. If you have a look at the video of Tai at the gym you can see his shoes, and yes they are 2 sizes too big I just can't help myself. I really try but Vete knows that my stubborness is just the way that I am. I aspire and try to follow my Dad's example, especially while our economy is doing so bad- but he is an original! When I complain about how hard I have to work, I'm quickly humbled just thinking about my Dad. The only fault I have of my own is whenever Tai asks for something I give in- I'm learning though! I love you Dad, from RJ!