DAYS OF MY YOUTH Growing up on Kauai

  Myron Kashima

Grandmother's Guava Branch Christmas Tree

My memories of my dear "baban" - my Japanese grandmother, are slowly fading.

She and my grandfather toiled on their rice farm for over 50 years. The hard work and harsh sun was etched on her face and hands.  She was a tiny woman, not even 5' tall but she was as strong as an ox. She often carried heavy bags of rice when they harvested the fields. It saddened me to see in her later years that she no longer was able to stand upright - she walked bent over, the same position when she was bent over for hours working in the rice paddies.

I always thought that she was very old, but I now realize that she was probably in her sixties when I was a little boy. She spoke very little English and I never really learned to speak Japanese, although I could understand her most of the time.

She impressed on me at a very young age, the importance of always dressing properly - she said that first impressions are very important and a second chance may never come. I've always remembered that - throughout high school and into the business world as an adult. .

I'll never forget my grandmother for her stamina and wisdom. Her example of hard work and perseverance has helped me in my own walk through life. I am thankful for my grandmother who instilled in me the values that's not often espoused in today's world.  

She didn't understand the real story of Christmas until very late in life.  I remember the guava branch she turned into a Christmas tree. She decorated it with lights and old lead tinsels.  It wasn't the usual traditional Christmas tree but it was the spirit behind it that made it beautiful!