Another Love Lost
On the 22nd of October 2010, my beloved maternal grandfather (gong gong) decided to leave us and return home to God. :)
Personally, I was not really as close to him as I was to my paternal grandmother. Nevertheless, I still have fond memories of this quiet and gentle old man.
I remember back when we were still living in our old house, just at our sliding glass door, would be a space reserved for my late grandfather's lazy chair. The string type, you know? (I have no idea how to describe it). Those types that gives you a nostalgic and "kampung-y" kind of feel.
We kept it in the storeroom but whenever gong gong came down for a visit and stayed with us (especially druing CNYs), the chair would be out, together with a plastic stool where we would always put a cup of tea for him. He would always read his newspapers in that chair. Not too hot and enough of sunlight.
I remember he would always sleep in the bedroom I shared with Eileen, thus we would bunk in with our parents. He was a very peaceful kind of person, rarely scolding us partly because we rarely get to see him. I remember that when he smiled, his eyes would crinkle at the corners and his toothy grin would sort of appear.
Words cannot express another's feelings. But I recall clearly when my gong gong's condition deteriorated and when he was confined to a wheelchair, he was mentally quite alert. That time, he no longer stayed by himself up north. My mom and aunts brought him down and he lived with one of my aunts. During CNYs, when we go visiting, he would smile that trademark smile of his and grasp your hands with both of his and shake it up and down cheerfully.
Oh, I remember too that everytime he came down to my old house during CNY, he would always always bring pomeloes as well!! Juicy and sweet ones. Hehehe.
Dear gong gong, watch over your children and grandchildren ya. :D
Personally, I was not really as close to him as I was to my paternal grandmother. Nevertheless, I still have fond memories of this quiet and gentle old man.
I remember back when we were still living in our old house, just at our sliding glass door, would be a space reserved for my late grandfather's lazy chair. The string type, you know? (I have no idea how to describe it). Those types that gives you a nostalgic and "kampung-y" kind of feel.
We kept it in the storeroom but whenever gong gong came down for a visit and stayed with us (especially druing CNYs), the chair would be out, together with a plastic stool where we would always put a cup of tea for him. He would always read his newspapers in that chair. Not too hot and enough of sunlight.
I remember he would always sleep in the bedroom I shared with Eileen, thus we would bunk in with our parents. He was a very peaceful kind of person, rarely scolding us partly because we rarely get to see him. I remember that when he smiled, his eyes would crinkle at the corners and his toothy grin would sort of appear.
Words cannot express another's feelings. But I recall clearly when my gong gong's condition deteriorated and when he was confined to a wheelchair, he was mentally quite alert. That time, he no longer stayed by himself up north. My mom and aunts brought him down and he lived with one of my aunts. During CNYs, when we go visiting, he would smile that trademark smile of his and grasp your hands with both of his and shake it up and down cheerfully.
Oh, I remember too that everytime he came down to my old house during CNY, he would always always bring pomeloes as well!! Juicy and sweet ones. Hehehe.
Dear gong gong, watch over your children and grandchildren ya. :D
This is the chair I was talking about!!! Something similar to it. And no, that is not me.
During my late grandfather's wake, I also found out an interesting piece of family history. My mom is the third generation of Lee's in the country following the ancestry of my great grandfather. He was from China, the typical males who wore their hairs in long pigtails!!! Unbelievable. He came over to Malaysia to look for better opportunities and thus began the family line.
Which also means that I have half-China chinese blood in me from my mom. (No wonder I get comments like "Are you from China?" "Why are your eyes so small?").
Hmm......
Grandpa, rest in eternal peace.
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