February is Parent Recognition Month. Strengthening Families Washington, of the Department of Early Learning for Washington State, believes there is no better way to recognize a parent, grandparent, foster or adoptive parent than by acknowledging the numerous and impressive things they do to strengthen their family and those around them in their community.
Seattle's Child is proud to sponsor the Washington Unsung Hero Awards, recognizing our everyday heroes and honoring the important role caregivers play in children's lives. There are 28 nominees for the 28 days of February, and Seattle's Child will highlight each and every one.
Congratulations to the Unsung Hero for February 26
Pat Kaehuaea – Redmond
There are many reasons for nominating Pat for the Unsung Hero Award; however, what is most extraordinary is the love and compassion that he gives and demonstrates toward his two girls (Sofi, 4, and Addi, 2) no matter what.
From the moment they were born, he has showered them with much love, compassion and abounding hands-on care and attention from bathing, changing, rocking, feeding, soothing, reading and playing with them. Although my daughter was pretty much a stay-at-home mom until the youngest turned 2 in September 2013, Pat always played a very active part in caring for them and helping them grow into happy, healthy and inquisitive stable little souls.
He doesn't think twice about taking them to the park, store, etc. on his own; dressing them, even if the clothes don't always match; combing their hair, even though it may not look very pretty; flossing and brushing their teeth and making sure he doesn't confuse hair gel for the kids' toothpaste; reading them the books they select, even those in Spanish, before putting them to bed; helping with potty training while teaching them the potty dance and rewarding them with M&M treats; fixing their breakfast and sitting on their little chairs around their little table. What a sight to see a six-foot man sharing bread with his little rambunctious princesses and doing the potty and barn yard dance with them.
The 2-year-old just started her "terrible 2" tantrums and they are not a pretty sight. Pat, however, has traveled this road before with his now 4-year-old and I guess I could say that he has perfected his magic of keeping calm and composed. He somehow always seems to turn Addi's tantrums and Sofi's occasional meltdowns around by rubbing their backs, asking them what would they like him to do to make it better, cuddling and caressing them and of course sometimes simply resorting to sweet treats or 10 minutes of Rio, Brave, etc. to calm them down.
During my daughter's difficult time with health issues (in and out of hospitals), Pat reached out to relatives and friends to primarily ensure that the girls were given the care they needed and to maintain a stable home for them. Although he knew that his support group could provide loving care to his girls, he was constantly a part of what was going on.
People think that he's an elementary teacher because of the patience, devotion and compassion that he has for his children. They don't hesitate to tell him what a wonderful Dad he is especially after observing him comfort, soothe, read and play games with them while on a long flight from his native state of Hawaii to Seattle. Pat is currently pursuing his Masters, working full time (which requires on-call duty on a monthly basis) and in addition he has National Guard duty. This, however, does not deter him from spending precious time with his girls.
I grew up with a father who was kind but whose era or culture or lack of a father figure prevented him from demonstrating his love the way Pat does with my grandkids. His mother primarily raised him. So, in spite of the fact that he did not grow up with a strong father figure, he does an amazing job as a father. It's incredibly rewarding for me to see him so devoted and taking such an active part in raising his kids.
Nominator: Alicia Luna
