Family first

Last week I was waken up by the shaking and movements of someone crying, only to find tears falling down from my closed eyes. It was me. I was crying hysterically and my trembling body is what woke me. It was a horrible dream…a nightmare actually. While I won’t go into details because it is too upsetting, I will summarize it by saying it involved my family and how they were taken away from me. Those closest to me were no longer here and I never had a fair warning; they were ripped out of my life in an instant. In this horrible nightmare, my mother was having difficulties with her health and was also hospitalized. When I angrily asked why nobody contacted me, I was quickly told that my family called and I didn’t call them back. .  While there is more to this dream, I think I will leave it at that since what I just described paints the picture.

It was like the light bulb went on in my head. [bing]. Family first, work second. I have been so busy with work over the last few months that I have been neglecting my family and all loved ones. I quickly realized this nightmare was a personal message telling me to slow down. I mean when you are woken up with a damp pillow from fallen tears, you know there is a message and you better listen. Work will always be there, family may not. While most of my family is back in Honolulu, my big brother, sister-in-law and their 3 children live in San Diego. A mere 2 hour drive away, which means I’m in need of scheduling a visit very soon to see my nieces and nephew.

I love what I do and I love children. So taking photos of families and children is something I enjoy and often forget it’s work.  However, once I am done with a shoot, there is so much post-production work that takes a lot of time. Archiving, editing, batching, creating previews, ordering fulfillment, BLOGGING [ha ha] etc… Then there is the business management side and employee management, the list goes on and on. I am a workaholic, I’ll admit it. But, I am also in love with my family.  I will make time and enjoy them as much as I can. I was given a wake up call. I answered it and will forge on like I’m suppose to. I got the message loud and clear. Life is too short, we must all enjoy it while we can.

To all those workaholics like me…. take a deep breath, smell the fresh air, give your loved ones a hug and if they are not near, pick up the phone and tell them you love them. Remember family first, work second.

Here’s a picture of my family and I a few years back when my brother Happy and his family came up for Thanksgiving. We were on our way to Vegas for our family road trip in the RV. My little niece Maile was sitting in my sister-in-law’s tummy at the time. Yes, we’re all qwirky and somewhat silly. Although my brother Happy doesn’t look to happy here, since he’s not smiling. Go figure?  I love my mom’s “GO GET EM” face. LOL.

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