LIVEALITTLE

A stroke of reality occurred Feb 1st when I found out my grandmother fell and was severely bruised on the left side. My novice (but powerful) nursing sense kicked in and alerted me to the imminent danger of losing my grandmother to a brain bleed. Luckily it was not so and grandma left the hospital 2 days later with a fractured clavicle and fractured 3rd and 4th rib... quite painful for stoic grandma. This incident made me realize how mortal grandma was despite my confident campaign for her to be the oldest lady in Chinatown. She's 96 and I'd always naively assumed she will not pass. This incident has shed light on grandma's humanity. Grandma has persevered through starvation, sacrificed her meals and penny-pinched her entire life for the betterment of her children, her grandchildren and, now, her great grandchildren. The only time I recall her not living the struggling immigrant life and smiling was when we took her to her first Vietnamese meal last year and she realized she liked satay sauce and voluntarily requested more rather than allowing us to scarf down first for her to finish up the scraps. I hope this incident will help her recognize how important she is to us because surely she is very important to me. Her harsh Chinese upbringing will not allow her show affection to me, but I will realize grandma's expression of love in her nagging me about marriage, having children, eating meat and not staying out past dark. Love you back, grandma!