Tuesday, April 04, 2006

89, a nyonya...my amah

Age:
89 years old this year

Personality:
- Bad-tempered during younger years
- Favourite certain children and grandchildren
- Loves watching any dramas on TV
- Loves dressing up in her kebaya & sarong and bersanggul with her hair
- A great cook and can't live without curry / sambal in her meals and eats with her hands most times
- Must have her Kopi-O every morning with biscuits
- Likes travelling and camplaining at times
- worships idols and follows most chinese festival celebrations
- She is my grandpa's 2nd wife
- Seldom have health problems (2 years ago, she still bathed with cold water)

My relationship with her:
- Stayed with her since I was born until about 17
- Helped her with cooking every saturday mornings, not because I enjoyed but because I was kind of forced to (and yet learning nothing or perhaps, have forgotten)
- However, enjoyed the times when I tumbuk sambal & belacan for her cos I would nip on sambals. (Yes, I enjoy chili as much as her. She trained me well)
- She talks in her sleep or I should say yells at times, quite scary
- Frankly, dislike her when I was growing up cos she looked down on my parents and made my life difficult with my dad (who 'inherited' the temper from her), also likes to spread rumours and be a 'batu api' to spark off the fights between dad and mom and others
- I was never one of her favourite grandchild
- I rebelled against her in my mid-teens

Her condition now:
- She's in hospital
- Fell down in the middle of the night and her leg, fractured
- Need to go through an operation but doctor says may be risky as she is too old
- If she does not go through operation, she'll be bedridden and have to endure pain in her leg for long term

My feelings at present day:
- I visited her at the hospital on sunday
- I prayed for her and asked if she wants to accept Christ. She is a bit nyanyuk presently (if any of my staunch uncles or aunties knows this, I'll be called anak derhaka)
- I began to love her the past 2 years
- I feel sad for her. Yesterday, I cried and asked God for mercy to save her for an Eternal Life

My growing up years wasn't an easy one and staying with her did not help to make things better. But the past have been forgotten and lessons learnt have enriched me in life. What I care about now is for God to save her...as we all know, her time on earth isn't long.

I learnt:
'Ho miah' (good life) can only be judge at end of one's journey, not by how much one has or how much one has achieved. But on whether your children / grandchildren wants to spend time with you and loves to have you around, whether your family stand united in joy and continue to uphold one another even after you are gone or merely just come together because its your funeral.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will pray for your Grandma Joanne.
Love is a lesson we should learn everyday, whether it be for family, friends or strangers. I hope I never stop learning to love, and regret not learning in time. I pray the same for you.
Take care babe.

artisticklytouch said...

remembered my gramma as well

bout the screening, TASGreenhall will be very glad to have it. sms me k becos the internet in the ofis is down now