My Sweet Grandma

On December 31st, 2023, my sweet grandmother passed away peacefully surrounded by the ones she loved. At 95 years old, I think we can all say she lived a long and fulfilling life. Heading back to our very own home today after the hospital visit was a bitter pill to swallow. After all, it was the house we shared with her all these years. But as I walked around the house, I started to smile as I realized all the memories we shared together. Growing up, I remember sharing many moments of binging Hong Kong dramas with her on the TvB channel. Even though I couldn’t understand half of what was going on due to the language barrier, I still enjoyed my time watching together as a family. In some ways, you can see our time together was like that as well….having fun, even with a language barrier. Unfortunately I was not fluent in Chinese and my grandmother was not fluent in English. Yet despite this, it didn’t stop her from putting on a huge smile whenever she was with us. I have many fond memories of exploring food together at the various Asian eateries in our local area. Like any Asian grandparent, she would insist on treating and ensure the meal turned into a fight over the bill. Every single major holiday from Thanksgiving, to Christmas to Chinese New Year, she was there with a big smile on her face. She loved her grandkids and showered them with gifts and love. Grandma was always a very generous woman.

I mentioned before how my brother and I had the pleasure of living with our own grandmother our entire lives. The best part of living with your loved ones is you see all sides of them. This does include all the good and the bad, but no matter what happens, you find ways to love each other. I think that was the beauty of the dynamic we had with her in this household. We really knew each other, we saw our differences and we all loved each other in the end. She truly was someone who impacted my life in many ways. Rather than think of loss to start this New Year, I instead will choose to remember and celebrate the long life she lived. Thank you for everything grandma.