"Buey hiao gin la, dang zi eh gia kuey ke buey hng."
(It's ok, it is not very far from here - dialect: teochew)That was what my wai po (maternal granny) said to me last night when she walked me to the bus stop near the MRT station before heading to the nearby CC for getai (street singing performance). It suddenly dawned on me how old she has become, although she certainly doesn't look like her age at all.
I meant it a good way - she looks younger than she actually is, partly due to the amount of housework she has to do a day, and looking after the 2 younger cousins of mine is not easy feat. Very good work out indeed =D.
Then it made me realised how my grandpa and her would fight off exhaustion just to travel to see me when I first booked out, wake up early to send me off at the airport and sacrifice some savings to buy me my favourite toys when I was younger. Being their first grandchild, although I don't bear the family name, I was, and still am, pampered and showered with their love.
From what I recall, grandma used to be the fierce woman and grandpa was the one spoiling me with possessions I wanted. Everyday after school, my grandma would prepare my lunch/dinner and urged me with her sharp screaming to finish my meal quickly. TV was a distraction, and I was often told off for watching and not digging in to my meal. It would take me an hour or so to finish, so you see why she should be screaming at me. Haha.
My grandpa however was not home usually, and when he was in the day, he would be sleeping because he drove the night shift cab shared with my uncle. When I was studying in Primary School, he would bring home Delifrance bakeries or pastries for breakfast from the ESSO petrol station because my auntie (who is only 4 years older than me, and is not my grandparents own daughter) and myself enjoyed eating them so much. When I attended morning session, he would make us milo with those breakfast, and watched us eat before going to bed, ensuring we had a good breakfast to start our day.
My grandma was the typical housewife that would sweep and mop the floor every day, go to the wet market every morning, make sure the kids wake up on time and do their homework, cook lunch and dinner and also prepare food for occasions such as chinese new year. During free time, she would go down to the shop below and help my mum run it. Also, she had the responsibility to bring us to school if we had extra-curricular activities when the school bus wouldn't be able to pick us up during those times. Full-time housewife, full-time caring grandma.
While my grandma did all those work, my grandpa would be the worrier, especially when it came to eating on time and eating enough. He never liked it when we didn't eat, and even when we actually did, when he deemed that we didn't, he would say that we didn't. Nagging would proceed from there. Not a bad thing actually, because he was the one that would buy us fast but junk food, which obviously as kids, we enjoyed these treats.
My grandma on the other hand, would not buy us these meals. She knows many other dishes which I love so much that I don't mind McDonald's closing their outlets islandwide. These dishes include chives pancakes (she seldom makes them now), a variation of the chives kueh (ku cai kueh), many different soups, fried chicken wings, huat kueh (made during certain occasions only, but she hasn't done so in years), mee sua, etc. etc. etc. etc.
There are so many things my grandparents had done for me, and there are so many more things they will do for me if they need to. They are getting old now, although still considered fit for their ages. The sudden sad feeling swelled up last night again when I thought about it - what will happen when they finally leave us here, with their love and memories? What will become of me? I dared not imagine when I waved goodbye to my grandma standing on the other side of the road, watching me walked towards the MRT station.
They may not be rich, may not be able to afford luxuries for their children and grandchildren so much so that other kids would envy, but it is such simplicity and humility in life that made my childhood filled with memories, love and care from them that many would have envied instead.
I wish to only make up for what they give, but I know it will take more than a lifetime. Perhaps it is for us to learn, so we remember how it is to bring up a child, making sure our own children receive the same kind of love we received as a child.
Eternity cannot be found in the dictionary of life, don't wait till the moment when it's too late to realise how much these important roles have changed and affected your own. Treasure them, don't take it for granted; Pass it on, let them be appreciated.
Finally, my ah gong and ah ma will never be replaced. No matter how much people flaunt about their own, I know my grandparents are the best in world.
Thank you for all your commitment =D.
(Is there actually a Grandparents' Day? I remember there is ... anyone knows when? HAHA!)
