Ohana means Family
My Uncle and brother picked me up after work. My brother has been touring Tito Rene around Seattle. He and Tita Alice visited from Chicago to take care of Tito Mayo, Tita Alice's youngest brother. He had just had a quadruple heart bypass surgery last week, and Tita Alice, being a retired nurse, decided to help Tita Michelle out by taking care of Tito Mayo. We all arrived in Bellevue. Tito Mayo had finally been allowed to go home. His recovery is good; he can now stand by himself.
At home, the mood is cheerful, as if nothing had happened. Tita Alice placed food on the table for us. Tito Mayo went out of his bedroom to greet us. I was glad to see him safe and smiling. He had let me and my brother stay in their apartment for our first few months in Seattle. Now that they need help around the house, my brother decided to stay with them for a couple of weeks to take care of the kids, while continuing to study for the NCLEX. They need all the help they can get. Even the kids, who are usually noisy and uncooperative, are nice and obedient.
After eating, we wash the dishes and Tita Michelle calls the children to their bedroom. Tito Rene helps install a bathmat to keep Tito Mayo from slipping. Pretty soon, everyone calls it a night. Before I leave, Tita Alice gives me a little Advanced Birthday present; I split it with my brother. When I arrive, alone, in our Apartment in Seattle, an hour's commute away from Bellevue, I am surprised to find that they also left a sack of rice for us.
I just have to say... I am very lucky to be part of this family. There have, of course, been rough times in the past, especially in my personal life. But when it seems I have no one else to turn to, my family is there, willing to lend a helping hand. Someday, I will give back, more than I ever received, without question. Because they were there back then. That's what families do.