Talking Story

Starting new conversations in the workplace!

  • Rosa’s Books
  • ManagingWithAloha.com
  • RosaSay.com

When Children Sleep, Angels Whisper

December 6, 2006 by Rosa Say

What follows is a new edit to a story I had written for Talking Story on the blog’s first December 6th. Last year, I linked back to it. This year, I print a newly edited version, for my daughter had asked me to write up “the part where our Papa Angel whispers to us at night.”

This is for her, and for all of us who knew and loved my dad. Perhaps it will help you think of someone you love as your December angel too.

Hau‘oli la hanau Dad, Happy Birthday.


December 6th will always mean just one thing to me: Today is my Dad’s birthday.

Dad is no longer with us; his was a life much too short. As we had explained to my young children the first Christmas we had without him, now sixteen years ago, heaven needs a lot of angels during this holiday season, and their Papa was one of those people who answered the call.

What we explained went something like this all the years when they were younger; now they know it by heart, so they can explain to their children one day in their own words, and with their mana‘o (what it means to them);

“The angels whisper in our ears while we are sleeping, so we dream the December dreams that reasonable people should dream right now. We want to be good, unselfish people who think with gratitude for what we have, way more than with wishfulness for what we don’t have. Angel whispers are soft and gentle, and they help our thoughts sleep well, unbothered by the noisy beating of our hearts which never sleep, and without the confusion life can bring when we’re awake. Ours should be the dreams of a baby born with all the glorious possibility of a wonderful life to come, just like the baby Jesus. Then, when we awake in the morning we are newly blessed, with the angel’s whisper mixing perfectly with our own aloha spirit. Papa is our personal angel, and because he went to heaven, his whispers can warm a lot of children’s hearts right now, not just ours.”

My dad had died two days before Thanksgiving, and those days which dutifully march between then and today, December 6th, we’ve since looked at as his ‘angel’s boot camp’ where every angel joins hands, hearts, and wings. They get the annual training they will need before our Lord sends them out to the world to help Santa, and help us, so that in turn we help each other, becoming angels on earth, practicing for the days we get our own wings.

And as many stories do, especially when they are told as a way to comfort someone, and help the hurting heart remember another, this one has taken on a life of its own. It has gotten magnified into quite a few variations over sixteen years’ time, for my mom’s eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and for a variety of reasons. My dad is now Super Angel!

Papa’s Shopping Angel Story

The telling of “Papa’s Shopping Angel Story” is a December tradition where fact and fantasy have eagerly meshed together, spreading its’ own Christmas cheer and adding a kind of magic to these early weeks of the month where even Santa must go through panic attacks as days are marked off the calendar.


Papa’s Shopping Angel Story
is also one not told in a single sitting; it’s become the background music singing in our heads for a few weeks, always lasting through the entire Christmas season. Sometimes it starts around Thanksgiving, but always, as sure as the sun comes up that morning, December 6 is the day we start to tell it to each other out loud. Everyone in the family does it, and from up in heaven, Dad makes sure none of us misses a beat in preparing for Christmas day.


You see one of the true facts
we all knew about my Dad, was that he was that very rare man who loved going shopping. My dad was thought of as a fairly low-key, quiet and reserved gentleman, but shopping became a social event for him after he had retired from his full-time job. He was up bright and early every single Sunday to read the paper, for that was the day the front page was usually only a protective covering for a ream of flyers and advertisements. If by chance it was raining (other than on Mauna Kea, there’s no snow in Hawaii!) Dad got up extra early to meet the delivery boy and make sure the paper didn’t get wet.


There was this unwritten rule
that no one could touch the familiar yellow Long’s Drugs ad until Dad had peeled the rest of the paper’s clutter away from it and studied it with his morning coffee before we headed out to church. After church, Dad dropped us off at home, and went shopping. In the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Dad’s Sunday ritual became a near-daily event: no one enjoyed the both the glitz and genuine caring of the season more than Dad.


Dad knew every cashier by name
in every retail store in Pearl City, the neighborhood we lived in. And they knew him. The rest of us were just “Jerry’s family” to most of them, but they all knew what we were getting for Christmas, and exactly why my Dad felt it was the perfect gift for us. They knew if we deserved it because of something special we did ”“ and the entire story that went with it ”“ or if it would be under the tree Christmas Day only because Dad loved us. On my own shopping excursions days later, I’d get accustomed to the all-knowing looks my way, or hearing a cashier say, “you lucky girl, just wait until you see what Santa will bring you this year!”


There’s so much else involved with
Papa’s Shopping Angel Story. We all loved to go shopping with him (when we were allowed to) because in the frenzy of the season we were positive there was an angel perched on his shoulder; the man could quickly find the perfect parking spot no matter how hectic the shopping weekend, no handicap sticker required. His research had paid off, and he found the deals of the century. If you bought something with him it was guaranteed not to show up cheaper somewhere else. Dad was my own personalized search engine long before Google’s founders were out of diapers.


So this morning, I woke up very early
, instantly realizing I was already late with some of my own holiday preparations and had to get started with loving and relishing every day that is left in this wonder-filled month. Heart, mind and soul must be completely open for every single thing December has to offer me. I can’t go wrong with Dad’s angel on my shoulder.


My dad would talk to me about work too
.

I know you’re busy. So am I. Believe me, I love my role, my work and what I do just as much as you do, and there are still those faultingly-human times I kid myself into believing I’m indispensable too. However, this is one of the rare times you’ll hear me say, Let the business go: Trust that the investments you’ve made all year long will help it survive on its’ own. And whatever you do, DO NOT start any new projects this month, adding to anyone else’s plate. If you ask for extra time off, and your boss lays a guilt trip on you about it, ignore it, smile, and hand him or her a candy cane while you say Mahalo (thank you), Mele Kalikimaka Kākou! (Merry Christmas for all of us.)


Enjoy
the month.

Enjoy the hunt for that parking space.

Enjoy the double bagging to hide brand names, and pretending the latch to the car trunk is busted so you can stash your lunch-break purchases.

Enjoy the wonder of plastic and your great credit rating.

Enjoy sweeping up falling pine-needles and perfectly re-stacking the gifts you just wrapped so the bows don’t get crushed.

Get your family to sit around the dinner table and not in front of the TV, so you can start telling the snippets of your own family Christmas stories and love each other.


And by the way
, since my dad’s not here anymore, say a few kind words to all those store employees working so hard to make Christmas as merry as they can for us. Since I’m here on O‘ahu right now, I’m filling up the gas tank and driving out to Longs Drugs in Pearl City. Dad will help me find a great parking space, I know he will.

Filed Under: MWA Key 3: Value Alignment, MWA19: The 19 Values

Comments

  1. Becky says

    December 6, 2006 at 9:35 am

    Rosa- Thank you for the beautiful words about Dad! It is really amazing that it has been 16 years! What a fantastic Dad and man he was to still make us all miss him so dearly! I agree we all need to slow down and enjoy this season it is too easy to get overwhelmed! PS.. Dad’s parking angel worked fabulously at Ala Moana yesterday too!!! Thanks Dad!

  2. Jeff says

    December 6, 2006 at 10:39 am

    Rosa-that is the best story I read in a long time. I’ve read a bunch of those “Chicken Soup for the Soul books” and you should send this one in because it is right in there. We were so lucky to have the best Dad in the world and the inspiration for all of us to attempt his greatness. We are lucky to have you our own resident author and family historian. Love you and thanks for sharing the truth.

  3. Rosa says

    December 7, 2006 at 9:13 am

    Wow Becca, you braved Ala Moana!?! Dad was with you for sure.
    Jeff, Becca helped with converting my wedding picture to a digital form for this; I’ll write if you will all help me with the other stuff for the complete richness of our family volumes!

  4. Karen Wallace says

    December 7, 2006 at 9:21 pm

    “loving and relishing every day that is left in this wonder filled month…” that is exactly what I am planning to do – but I did need that gentle reminder :)
    I love this post, and remember reading the story of your father and the Shopping Angel (was it?) last year… it moved me then, and it still moves me today. Thank you for sharing this beautiful story, and showing us all that there is so much more to our lives than work.. that we need to integrate the beauty, joy and love that is all around us and pay attention to the guardian angels sitting on our shoulder.
    Your father lives on through you and your family. He must be overjoyed with the love you generate.

  5. Rosa says

    December 8, 2006 at 9:29 pm

    Thank you Karen for sharing your aloha with me and my ‘ohana so generously in your comment; you too have become an angel’s grace to me in the time I have come to know your beautiful heart.
    Aloha kaua e,
    Rosa

  6. curt says

    December 10, 2006 at 2:53 pm

    16 years!? has it been that long? thank you so much for reminding me that ALL of us will hold the days around the 6th with the same thoughts. like you, as the day approaches, it seems dad pops into my head over and over again, as if to help me give pause to the everyday things, and to really stop and enjoy life, the season, family, and friends. come to think of it, your description of an angel is perfect. thanks sis. love to all

  7. amypalko says

    May 1, 2008 at 11:24 am

    Oh Rosa, you’ve made me cry! I also feel like I’ve just experienced Christmas on May/Lei Day :-)
    Daddies are such special beings, aren’t they? They have the ability to make us feel special, feel safe, feel cherished. I think it’s so lovely that you continue to celebrate your father’s generous and giving spirit, remembering the way he touched your lives, and indeed, how he continues to do so.
    Thank you so much for sharing this, even though I’m over a year late in finding it.

Search Talking Story your way

RSS Current Articles at Managing with Aloha:

  • Do it—Experiment!
  • Hō‘imi to Curate Your Life’s Experience
  • Kaʻana i kāu aloha: Share your Aloha
  • Managing Basics: The Good Receiver
  • What do executives do, anyway? They do values.
  • Managing Basics: On Finishing Well
  • Wellness—the kind that actually works

Search Talking Story by Category

Talking Story Article Archives

  • July 2016 (1)
  • April 2012 (1)
  • March 2012 (6)
  • February 2012 (6)
  • January 2012 (10)
  • December 2011 (1)
  • November 2011 (4)
  • October 2011 (17)
  • September 2011 (8)
  • August 2011 (6)
  • July 2011 (2)
  • June 2011 (2)
  • May 2011 (4)
  • April 2011 (12)
  • March 2011 (16)
  • February 2011 (16)
  • January 2011 (23)
  • December 2010 (4)
  • November 2010 (1)
  • October 2010 (1)
  • September 2010 (4)
  • August 2010 (1)
  • July 2010 (4)
  • June 2010 (13)
  • May 2010 (17)
  • April 2010 (18)
  • March 2010 (13)
  • February 2010 (18)
  • January 2010 (16)
  • December 2009 (12)
  • November 2009 (15)
  • October 2009 (20)
  • September 2009 (20)
  • August 2009 (17)
  • July 2009 (16)
  • June 2009 (13)
  • May 2009 (3)
  • April 2009 (19)
  • March 2009 (18)
  • February 2009 (21)
  • January 2009 (26)
  • December 2008 (31)
  • November 2008 (19)
  • October 2008 (8)
  • September 2008 (11)
  • August 2008 (11)
  • July 2008 (10)
  • June 2008 (16)
  • May 2008 (1)
  • March 2008 (17)
  • February 2008 (24)
  • January 2008 (13)
  • December 2007 (10)
  • November 2007 (6)
  • July 2007 (27)
  • June 2007 (23)
  • May 2007 (13)
  • April 2007 (19)
  • March 2007 (17)
  • February 2007 (14)
  • January 2007 (15)
  • December 2006 (14)
  • November 2006 (16)
  • October 2006 (13)
  • September 2006 (29)
  • August 2006 (14)
  • July 2006 (19)
  • June 2006 (19)
  • May 2006 (12)
  • April 2006 (11)
  • March 2006 (14)
  • February 2006 (14)
  • January 2006 (7)
  • December 2005 (15)
  • November 2005 (27)
  • October 2005 (22)
  • September 2005 (38)
  • August 2005 (31)
  • July 2005 (34)
  • June 2005 (32)
  • May 2005 (27)
  • April 2005 (28)
  • March 2005 (36)
  • February 2005 (33)
  • January 2005 (35)
  • December 2004 (13)
  • November 2004 (24)
  • October 2004 (22)
  • September 2004 (28)
  • August 2004 (8)

Copyright © 2021 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in