This is a photo of my grandmother with my mom holding my brother in her arms.
I found this photo in a drawer full of old photos in my grandmother's house last year. It brought a smile to my face since it shared a glimpse of the past before I was even born.
Growing up, I learned the importance of family and showing gratitude/respect to my elders.
This was taught to me in two ways: 1) I grew up in household of very strong women and 2) both my parents led by example.
Because of this, I have always felt proud of my family so it was important for me to have my bf Hunter meet them.
With the exception of my parents and four aunts/uncles in LA, the rest of my family lives in Thailand. As you can see by our family reunion portrait below taken two years, my family is small and anchored by my grandmother who sat in her blue dress in the middle of the photo.
Hunter had met my parents on a few occasions so naturally, I really wanted to him to meet my grandmother next. People say that mothers are considered to be the backbone of a family, therefore my grandmother was the original backbone of ours.
Originally born in Hong Kong, my grandmother immigrated to Thailand as a result of WWII. There, she married my grandfather and had four children. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed shortly after I was born so I never had the chance to meet him. But although he was gone, I grew up knowing him by a photo which my grandmother put at the entrance of her kitchen which she greeted every day.
My grandma was your typical Chinese lady...loud and tough. I remember when I lived with her one summer during college I called my mom crying and asking her why "grandma always yells at me". My mom said, "Pen, that's just how she talks...don't worry." Oh, ok. After that, I understood that she wasn't mad at me after all and everything was fine.
My grandma was always "yelling"...but with love. Under the hard exterior she was a loving woman. Her love for her family was reflected by her loyalty and care she had for her husband and children. As a result, her dedication was returned by four generations of us who kept close to her. Living in Japan, I was able to visit the family in Thailand at least once a year, which I enjoyed so much.
There is nothing else I feel other than extremely happy and fortunate to have seen my grandma during my visit two weeks ago before she passed. And how fortunate was it that I had a chance to introduce Hunter to her? I really wanted to introduce the person I plan to spend my future with.
My mom says I am extremely lucky.
But you know what...I just feel grateful to have the family I have. Before leaving for Tokyo, I went to visit my grandmother at the hospital with Hunter and the entire family was there. Hunter was amazed by the sight to see everyone there...all four generations. He said, he hopes when he's older, he will be surrounded by his kids, grandkids and great grandkids like my grandmother was.
My grandmother was truly an inspiration of how to love your family and how to be loved. I love and thank her for showing me that. I miss her already and will do my best to be like her when it comes to my family now and for the future.
Happy Mother's Day.
