B+C+B+C+B+C: A second father

Saturday, June 18, 2011

A second father

Next to my own Dad, I don't think there's any other old man I've ever met that I respect, appreciate, and admire as much as Coach Kaluhiokalani. He supported and helped me in the right direction all through some of the most formative years of my life. He celebrated my accomplishments while challenging me to do more and be better. He never gave me any special treatment, even when it meant starting a race without me because I was taking too long to tie my shoes. Along with teaching me the importance of punctuality, he taught by example the importance of representing my school, faith, and family wherever I went. He made his athletes leave their hotel rooms clean. He brought gift boxes of Hawaiian macademia nuts when we traveled so he could give them away to people we came in contact with. He talked about the church and the gospel at any time - during workouts, plane rides, whenever. Coach K is an extremely hardworking, generous, wise, and positive person. I'm grateful to have him in my life as mentor and friend.
He came in town this month to visit a couple of his kids. He bought a car from Enterprise (which gives Brian a little referral bonus!), then today he treated us to lunch (at icky nasty Olive Garden - possibly the most undercover W.T. chain restaurant eeevvveerr), and got to meet my kids and immediatly start recruiting them for his XC team in Fall 2028. I have pictures I'll post later. And by "post later" I mean I'll add them to the ever-growing folder with hundreds of photos I've been meaning to blog or do something with eventually....
But I will share the collage 8x10 I gave to coach as a little gift:

I miss those days!

3 comments:

Julie said...: Chels you rock - Coach K rocks and brianna likes to stick rocks in her nose! :) fun for you guys about both LOL!!! Even though I didn't know you for most of "those days" I miss those days too!; June 20, 2011 at 1:03 PM
Sam and Melissa said...: Aw, this post had me tearing up. Those were some of the best experiences of my life. I remember when he started the race without you, ha ha. So funny. I am pretty sure he knew you could catch up :) I need to get pictures from you, I lost ALL my pictures save two or three from those years.; June 20, 2011 at 1:18 PM
BBS said...: What a wonderful tribute. I love the things he has taught you. I also love coach's who inspire!; June 28, 2011 at 5:46 PM

Quotes I want to remember

"The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain."
- Neal A. Maxwell

"It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to nurseries, not to babysitters. We become enamored with men's theories such as the idea of preschool training outside the home for young children. Not only does this put added pressure on the budget, but it places young children in an environment away from mother's influence."
-Ezra Taft Benson

“Perhaps there has never been a time when we had greater need to pray and to teach our family members to pray. Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own.
-Jeffrey R. Holland

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith."
-Neil L. Andersen

"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
-Neil L. Andersen

President Hinckley admonished both men and women to be nurturers. He said, ‘How much more beautiful would be the society in which we live if every father . . . and . . . mother regarded [their] children . . . as gifts from the God of heaven . . . and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord.’ ”
-Susan W. Tanner

"Children are like trees. When they are young, their lives can be shaped and directed, usually with ever so little effort. Said the writer of Proverbs, 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it' (22:6). That training finds its roots in the home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former U.S. president George Bush, spoke wisely: 'Your success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house.' "
-Gordon B. Hinckley

“I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion.”
-Henry B. Eyring

“Reverent behavior is not a natural tendency for most children. It is a quality that is taught by parents and leaders through example and training. But remember, if reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence.”
-Margaret S. Lifferth

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
- M. Russell Ballard

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’?”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things.”
-Kent D. Watson

Saturday, June 18, 2011

A second father

3 comments:

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