Monday, April 26, 2004

Grandma


go ahead, make my day


My grandma is the toughest grandmother on the planet. Yes, that means she can take on any grandmother out there, kick some butt and still make it home on time for breakfast. What else would you expect from a tobacco-smoking, profanity-spewing old bird? Despite never having gone to school, this tough cookie is well stocked on wit, humour and sarcasm!

Growing up in Grandma's house was quite an experience. As a strict disciplinarian who took no shit from us youngsters, she wielded the cane like a samurai, his katana. Whenever we got out of line, we got it bad. If she had kept up her tyranny till today, chances are Social Services would haul her in for child abuse. Once, as a strapping young lad, my uncle threw caution to the wind and went fishing in a disused mining pond. Despite being warned by his mother of the dangers of fishing in a mining pond, the young man found the lure of a big catch too tempting to refuse. Unfortunately for him, she found him out. So when the boy returned, she grabbed him by his hair kicking and screaming and dragged his sorry ass into the bathroom. There she scooped up buckets of water and splashed it up his face making sure it went up his nose - stopping only after she was convinced that he learnt what it felt like to drown! Hahahhahah!!!!

And while we all love Grandma, we always had the impressions that she was tough as nails - cold and unfeeling.

Then 13 years ago, Grandpa passed on. That day, she cried and cried for the husband who was betrothed to her in her teens. We had never seen her like that - choked up with emotion. It was the first time I saw her cry. And she cried for months and months after his demise.

For all the years they had been married, they had never quarreled. He brought home the bacon and fed the whole family while she faithfully managed the household and the kids. And when the kids grew up and he retired, she tended to him till the day he died. It was almost automatic, almost unfeeling. And yet under all that tough exterior was a woman who had grown to love her husband so much that she could not bear to live without him.

As I was growing up, I grew to despise the notion that any good can come out of love or marriage. It was my tough-cookie grandmother who rekindled my faith.

19 comments:

  1. Wow. My grandparents are still around, and they live nearby. They influence me very much in my upbringing. :) That's really touching, James. A proof that love exists, and can last for so long through out the years - through good and bad, happy or sad.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My grandmother on my father's side recently passed away a few weeks ago, I think she was 96? Sad thing was that I was in the US so I was unable to attend. Not very close to her but have to admire her strength, she had 6 sons and 7 daughters! My father was the youngest of the whole lot and I think he felt it hard. My only regret was that I could not be there for my father.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sniff sniff... that was like one of those Hallmark movies... *wipes tears*

    ReplyDelete
  4. very touching piece this... wow...!

    ReplyDelete
  5. i think... u in turn just rekindled my faith in love and marriage...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow! Your grandmother looks like an ex-marine in that picture! If she had her own blog, imagine the stories she could tell! :)
    Grandma Rocks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. man, that's a beautiful shot of your grandma, no joke. very cool lady :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Grandma looks like the Tai Kah Cher in Temple Street in Hong Kong. hehe.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Still works me up to think about it, Jess.
    Yeah, raZZ, there's hope for lovers everywhere! :)
    Well, Jas I'm sure you still have plenty of time to be there for your dad, no?
    Life's like a big soap opera, annu. :)
    Yeah Sir7, Grandma does that sometime.
    Aww, Olivia... :o(
    Good for you ryuu. :)
    Yeah SS. I ought to coerce her into getting a tattoo!
    Thanks, Adriene. I like shooting old folks. They faces have so much character. :)
    Yup Gina, she's a regular thug! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. nice pic.very original.we are all remembering our elderly ones off late.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Was it the authentic cigarettes that she has that was caught in the pic? .. I remember them as it was my first witness to watching someone wrap their own ciggie.
    I thought it was cool and realise, your Grandma is even cooler.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I met your grandma once and I think she's beyond cool. Supah-cool, man!
    Send my regards! :+:

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks Dee.
    Yeah, those are her "rollies", Shine. She's been at it forever! :)
    Hmm... I wonder if she remembers you, Mdmafia... :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Last year I went back to my hometown but didnt had the chance to visit my Grandma as always coz i was there only for 1 1/2 day.. I didnt know she waited for me... but I never show up. A week later she got a stroke, went into a coma and pass away. I live with regret knowing that she waited to see me and now I have to wait my lifetime before I can see her again. I miss mine very very much *sob!sob!*

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sorry about your grandma, Inn. :o(

    ReplyDelete
  16. i mean, sorry to hear that :(

    ReplyDelete