Set goals for "Family Traditions" in the New Year.

Set goals for "Family Traditions" in the New Year.

When my Grandma Tauali'i moved to our nation, she didn't know how to read or write, which was OK with me since she was wonderful at everything else!!!

Rather than following a recipe, she could just taste a meal and tell you precisely what was in it. She was the finest chef I ever had, and she taught me how to cook. When I was a kid, my mother taught me how to sew by showing me a garment at a shop, then buying the material and sewing it together in a few days.

For the first six years of my life, my Grandma Tauali'i was the only one who cared for me, and after that, it was a mix of her teachings and my own experiences.

Before going to sleep, I always requested a tale. When I was a child, my grandmother would tell me stories about Samoa and her family's history, including stories of her grandfather, Opapo, and how he raised and educated her.

Because she could not read English fluently, my grandmother would read from a book and I would follow along and learn along with her. At the age of four, my mother acquired a collection of encyclopedias for our home, and I started reading them. My grandmother was the first person who sparked my interest in education.

My grandmother made being able to take care of myself an experience since she was so enthusiastic about teaching me new things.

My father remarried when I was six, and my stepmother was just 12 years older than me, which was an experience in and of itself, but probably more for her.

Every summer, my dad would pack up our little family and drive us to Idaho, where my stepmother was originally from. On a dairy farm in eastern Idaho, we would be near the town of Blackfoot, where we would live for the next several months.

My Grandpa Hale was a quiet, reserved gentleman, but I adored him anyway. He would wake me up early in the morning and take me out to milk the cows before the sun came up. I loved it! I will never forget the scent of milk chilling in a bucket, and the sound of cows feeding and the milk stream striking the bucket. In the mornings, my grandfather, Hale, didn't speak much because he didn't need to. As a child, I would be a constant source of conversation, asking questions such as, "Why do cows eat hay?" and "Do they prefer to be milked?" In the event that Grandpa Hale came into the kitchen after we had finished milking all the cows and cleaned up all the buckets and tins, I was certain that my Grandma Hale would have a fresh loaf of bread and some homemade jam, fresh milk, and some canned fruit ready for us to eat for breakfast. It was the finest combination of fresh milk, bread, and canned cherries, and it would keep you going all day!

Grandpa loved to read and was a riot to be around. I found him to be amusing, despite the fact that he was a serious person to everyone else. Whenever I catch my Grandpa swearing, I always tell him, "Grandpa, you can't say that!," to which he replies, "That's in the Bible. If the Lord says it, then I can say it!"

The way he spoke to me about his reading interests, and not only in a kid-like manner, made me believe that he was a person just like me.

He used to let me assist him in the garden when I was a kid. As we worked on the farm, Dad would explain to me about the weeds and plants that grew there (he was a professor of agriculture at a nearby university), and I would suck it all up like a sponge.

My grandparents, Hale, spent a lot of time in the garden and milking cows one summer; that summer was my favorite! After all these years, I can still recall it well. After slipping and falling in a local canal and cutting the bottom of my foot, I had to be carried home by an older neighbor kid so I could have it dressed.

In the grain bin that Grandpa owned, there were a lot of mice and wild cats. As a child, I used to attempt to capture mice or cats, depending on what attracted my attention at the time.

I sobbed for what seemed like an eternity when my parents arrived to pick me up and tell me it was time to go home. I sulked out by the grain bin as the adults said their goodbyes to the home for the last time.

While no one else was looking, I dug my fingers deep into the Idaho sand in an area where I was certain my grandpa could see me. When it comes to spring rains, I knew that this region would receive a lot of it and that the soil was excellent.

I sowed some winter wheat in the hope that my grandfather would notice it when it sprouted in the spring.

I burst into tears when it was time to finally get in the vehicle and drive away from my Idaho home. I stayed up as late as I could to say goodbye to my grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa Hale, and then slept off for most of the drive back to Illinois.

In the spring, my Grandpa Hale phoned our home, something he never did. He requested to speak to me, which he simply didn't do. The first thing he told me when I called was, "I received your message."

"Which one?" I inquired about it.

What about the one that reads, "I love you, Grandpa... is there another?"?"

In the garden, there is a sign reading, "I adore Grandma, too."

For me, growing up with grandparents was the apex of my education and the basis for all I've done as a parent.

In addition to teaching me to read and write, my grandmother Tauali'i also taught me how to cook, sew, and heal by doing alongside me.

My grandparents, Grandpa and Grandma Hale, taught me how to live off the land by working with me side by side, talking to me about their experiences, and showing me the wonders of nature.

My most treasured memories are of my time with my grandparents. If they want to and if we as parents are willing to let it, the elderly have so much to offer us and our children. Even though all of my grandparents have passed away, they have left me with a wealth of knowledge that I can pass on to my own children.

Even if we've set "healthy goals" this year, it's important to make "familial resolutions" as well, so that we may pass down valuable knowledge from one generation to the next, which is priceless and traditional, and can never be recreated by the Internet or a university.