Reminders from Grandpa

June 11, 2020

Hi Grandpa (or more accurately, gong gong, as I used to call you). I’ve been thinking of you. How you used to pick me up from school and let me sit on top of your shoulders. How you peeled oranges from our backyard garden and always shared with me the sweetest ones. How you taught me how to fold paper cranes and even though mine were all crumply and ugly, you would hang each of them up from the ceiling fans to showcase my work.

We would watch all the Chinese fighting movies together. Dragon ball and Avatar, too. I would get mad at you for not waking me up early to watch Saturday morning cartoons with you, but then I would get angry when you did wake me up because I’m not a morning person.

I remember your wristwatch and flat cap that you wore every time we went out anywhere. I remember your style and your smell. I visited a Chinese medicine school last year, it smelled like you.

I wonder what you would think of our world today. In some ways it’s a bit better than before, since you left right after 9/11, which was so terrible. But these days I think you would think that the world is a little scary and sad and disheartening, too...and honestly some days it is. But as you know, we have my Grandmother’s resilient blood in us...so we continue to flow and move forward. We continue to try and be better and stand up for what is good and right. I miss you.

Btw, I taught my mom how to fold paper cranes like how you taught me. She folded hundreds of them to have at my wedding so that we could have a piece of you everywhere. :) Grandma was really happy about that.

How blessed am I to have had you as my beloved gong gong. And to have been loved by you, with all these ordinary but significant acts of love.

Anyway, I wanted to write these memories down. Because, after nearly 20 years, some days they fade...and some days -like today- I remember them so brightly. 🤔 And somehow I think I was supposed to remember and feel and celebrate your love today, so thank you for stopping by. ✨