As a mother of two beautiful daughters, a loving wife, and a successful business owner, Tiana Gamble is beyond busy. When staying at home for health and safety became the new way of doing business, Tiana found herself coming at her day with a new perspective on how to manage her time. Sure, there are still dishes to wash and meetings to Zoom, but the time at home has allowed her to shift her focus and reconnect with her family.
“It’s made our family a lot closer and has given us more time with each other,” Tiana says. “I hope they remember the amount of attention we got to give each other, which was not how the world was before this. Going into the future, life in general is way more revolved around family than it was before. Now it’s OK for your kids to be in the background making noise.”
Even though there’s always something she could be working on for her retail brand Bikini Bird, Tiana now prioritizes family time and being present in the moment. “We don’t need to separate work and family so severely that there’s a disconnect,” she says. “Now we play games, watch movies together and get creative on what we can do when we’re together and just be present.”
Instead of waking up and running out the door to get the jump on her day, Tiana is enjoying easing into the morning with family breakfast and wrapping up the day with dinner outside every night. She’s even been having outdoor picnics in the yard with the kids. And every weekend, Tiana and the fam paddle out to Canoes in Waikiki, a great surfing introduction for her girls who both fearlessly love the ocean and playing in the waves. Their older daughter loves to cruise the Waikiki surf on her soft top, while the younger one loves just being in the water and body surfing.
“We traveled a ton before for work and it’s nice to slow down,” Tiana says. “Being in the ocean is such a big part of our lifestyle and it’s a great way to stay connected with nature. It's the way my husband and I grew up.”
Tiana has wisely taken advantage of this time at home with her family. The grandparents stop by often to spend time with the kids and the family started an herb garden for some healthy outdoor, get-your-hand-dirty experimentation. They’ve been cooking together much more often, making fun, hands-on meals like sweet potato gnocchi. Tiana’s also been teaching her girls how to make flower lei, which they lovingly used for the mini May Day program the girls performed at home for the family.
“Life is such a distraction, but when we’re together, we take in the beauty of nature and we stay connected with nature,” Tiana says. “Growing up in Hawai‘i, you enjoy the simpler things in life.”
Finding new ways for her children to play and explore is always a top priority, and lately, the Gambles have turned nightly dance parties into a full-on tradition. One night it’s classic rock, another night it’s Hawaiiana, and sometimes it’s Paul Simon or Ziggy Marley. The kids are always in the mood to groove. And with the love of support from the entire Gamble ‘ohana, they’ve carved out a healthy niche that keeps everyone smiling.
