In Hawai‘i, the giving of a lei at graduation is more than a gift — it’s an embrace of love, pride, and belonging. Families are where we first learn patience, forgiveness, and everyday kindness. As Irving Pichel reflected, “If my father was the head of our house, my mother was its heart.” Here’s a gathering of voices that honor the ties that steady us and the stories that shape who we become. 💓🫶

Govern a family as you would cook a small fish — very gently. ~ Chinese Proverb

Friendships come and go, but families are forever. ~ Kenny Rogers

The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family. ~ Lee Iacocca

Family life is too intimate to be preserved by the spirit of justice. It can be sustained by a spirit of love which goes beyond justice. ~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Family jokes, though rightly cursed by strangers, are the bond that keeps most families alive. ~ Stella Benson

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~ Jane Howard

Having a family is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain. ~ Martin Mull

It is easier to rule a kingdom than to regulate a family. ~ Chinese Proverb

All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. ~ Leo Tolstoy

Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles in the cold. ~ André Maurois

Families are about love and overcoming emotional torture. ~ Matt Groening

The goodness of the father reaches higher than a mountain; that of the mother goes deeper than the ocean. ~ Japanese Proverb

Families and their problems go on and on, and they aren’t solved, they’re dealt with. ~ Roger Ebert