There is Beauty in the World

Around Valentine's Day my parents and I made a trip to Oahu, Hawaii to visit family.  My grandma was having surgery (God blessed her with a successful one) so we wanted to be there for support and to visit with my cousins, aunts and uncle. Excuses, right?  One of the coolest parts of the trip was meeting my second cousin and uncle who came all the way from Japan!  My grandma hasn't seen him in over 60 years!  The experience was familial bliss. My grandma told me it was if time hasn't even passed between the two of them.  Since neither my cousin nor uncle speaks English our meeting included various cheesy hand signals and lots of laughing and repeating. We had a barbecue which included lots of food and booze (da kine hawaiian style).   By the end of the night I discovered the Japanese really love their karaoke.  The ukele was going and I think even the shakers at one point, the vibe was truly encapsulating. It sounds cheesy but when having such an intimate setting with family members you've never met before, being able to sing and sit around together isn't a common thing to do. Even though we were strangers I felt connected to them. This was also the first time that anyone met family from my grandma's side. When she left over 60 years ago no contact was kept between herself and her family. By the end of the night this feeling of being reunited led some of my family to tears of happiness. There is nothing more important than family. The idea that the years or distance between family has no matter on the heart is simply beautiful.