After the demise of my grandma, I had lots of thoughts from what I observed these few days. Finally, I mustered all my courage and asked my mum about my family history and realized it wasn't as simple as I thought.
I always thought my grandma had 8 children. In actual fact, it was my grandfather who had 8 children. His first wife had 4 and she passed away in World War 2. Then he remarried my grandma and had 4 more children. The aunt who lends me car is the firstborn and my dad is ranked second of my grandma's own children.
The first uncle and first aunt that I always called are my grandfather's first wife's children. It was no wonder my first uncle didn't want to come down on the first day initially. :( But his son, my cousin, is such a filial person. He's the most caring and most giving. In the end he did and did his part as the eldest son. I guess I know now why there were "strife" in the family previously.
Anyway, I also realized that my grandma was a good cook. She used to sell bee hoon, coffee and tea. With my youngest aunt and another aunt (don't know from where), my grandma would carry the big pot of bee hoon and go to construction sites to sell. My mum mentioned that her cooking was excellent. I don't remember much except her ngoh hiam which she would make every new year. Everyone looks forward to eating that every new year.
I also realized my grandma was born in 1920. We collected her ashes yesterday and saw that her bones were not brittle like my Dad's and there was not much traces of black. According to the person helping us with the collection, traces of black means too much medicine in the body. Holes in the bones means the person was suffering from osteoporosis. My Dad's bones were like that. My grandma was such a fit person because her bones had little traces of black and her bones were whole though broken up into smaller pieces!!! She had only been to the doctor once (2008) in her entire life. I feel ashamed of myself. :(
I'm guilty of not visiting her often enough. I will miss her. She was really loving towards my brother and I. Even though she had lost much memory due to old age, she still remembered my mum, bro, dad and I occasionally. She always thought I'm still studying and wants me to study hard and be filial to my mum and dad. I will never forget her words.
I've never said this to her before:
I love you, ah ma! Rest in peace.
I always thought my grandma had 8 children. In actual fact, it was my grandfather who had 8 children. His first wife had 4 and she passed away in World War 2. Then he remarried my grandma and had 4 more children. The aunt who lends me car is the firstborn and my dad is ranked second of my grandma's own children.
The first uncle and first aunt that I always called are my grandfather's first wife's children. It was no wonder my first uncle didn't want to come down on the first day initially. :( But his son, my cousin, is such a filial person. He's the most caring and most giving. In the end he did and did his part as the eldest son. I guess I know now why there were "strife" in the family previously.
Anyway, I also realized that my grandma was a good cook. She used to sell bee hoon, coffee and tea. With my youngest aunt and another aunt (don't know from where), my grandma would carry the big pot of bee hoon and go to construction sites to sell. My mum mentioned that her cooking was excellent. I don't remember much except her ngoh hiam which she would make every new year. Everyone looks forward to eating that every new year.
I also realized my grandma was born in 1920. We collected her ashes yesterday and saw that her bones were not brittle like my Dad's and there was not much traces of black. According to the person helping us with the collection, traces of black means too much medicine in the body. Holes in the bones means the person was suffering from osteoporosis. My Dad's bones were like that. My grandma was such a fit person because her bones had little traces of black and her bones were whole though broken up into smaller pieces!!! She had only been to the doctor once (2008) in her entire life. I feel ashamed of myself. :(
I'm guilty of not visiting her often enough. I will miss her. She was really loving towards my brother and I. Even though she had lost much memory due to old age, she still remembered my mum, bro, dad and I occasionally. She always thought I'm still studying and wants me to study hard and be filial to my mum and dad. I will never forget her words.
I've never said this to her before:
I love you, ah ma! Rest in peace.
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