Friday 23 May 2008
Remembering
We were the earliest to arrive that day! It was a beautiful day, so after greeting and wishing Grandma a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, we raced one another to the pool. I was only too happy to break in my new michael kors swimwear which just arrived in the mail.
We splashed, played with random kids sharing the pool, and sunbathed in the shallow end of the waters while waiting for the rest of them to arrive. After 3 hours of swimming and soaking, our skin was so pruned.
Finally everyone arrived. There were almost 50 of us! and each family brought delicious homemade dishes for the celebration potluck! Grandma was really pleased and couldn't stop smiling, and scolding everyone- which I thought was probably her way to show that she loved us... typical Asian grandmas!
We had a grand time. We made merry, overate the oh-so-yummy food and took lots of photos. A young cousin who was very into photography, even brought his expensive gears and took semi-professional portraits of each family with GRANDMAMA, the main lead and celebrity of the evening.
*
The Sun morning 2 weeks later, I was awoken by my younger sister who was talking really loudly on the phone. What's going on, I asked.
"You better call mom now", was all that she said.
I did; she sounded panicky, "Grandma, she can't breathe.. she.. may not make it.. I am on my way to the hospital now.. "
Everything happened so quickly, we did not have time to react. Few of us made it to say our last goodbyes; Grandma passed away before the ambulance reached the final destination.
*
As was the custom, her 24-hour wake was held for 5 days. Most of us were there every single day.
The photo used for the wake was the one which was taken on Mother's Day, that special day when she dressed up in a beautiful maroon cheongsam top and smiled so widely, her sparkly eyes were mere lines. The one which was taken only 2 weeks earlier.
During the cremation, tears flowed till there were no more. Grandma's ashes were placed near her husband's who died 26 years ago and, as my mom often told me, loved her more than anything in the world.
R.I.P. Grandma.
The Calling - Could It Be Any Harder
You left me with goodbye and open arms
A cut so deep I don't deserve
You were always invincible in my eyes
The only thing against us now is time
Chorus:
Could it be any harder to say goodbye and without you,
Could it be any harder to watch you go, to face what's true
If I only had one more day
I lie down and blind myself with laughter
A quick fix of hope is what I'm needing
How I wish that I could turn back the hours
But I know I just don't have the power
Chorus
I'd jump at the chance,
We'd drink and we'd dance
And I'd listen close to your every word,
As if it's your last, I know it's your last,
Cause today, oh, you're gone
Chorus
Like sand on my feet,
The smell of sweet perfume
You stick to me forever
And I wish you didn't go
I wish you didn't go, I wish you didn't go away
To touch you again,
With life in your hands,
It couldn't be any harder.. harder.. harder
This Mother's Day, they decided to do it differently and extended invitations to the grandkids (including me!) and great-grandkids to come along for the ride.
We were the earliest to arrive that day! It was a beautiful day, so after greeting and wishing Grandma a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, we raced one another to the pool. I was only too happy to break in my new michael kors swimwear which just arrived in the mail.
We splashed, played with random kids sharing the pool, and sunbathed in the shallow end of the waters while waiting for the rest of them to arrive. After 3 hours of swimming and soaking, our skin was so pruned.
Finally everyone arrived. There were almost 50 of us! and each family brought delicious homemade dishes for the celebration potluck! Grandma was really pleased and couldn't stop smiling, and scolding everyone- which I thought was probably her way to show that she loved us... typical Asian grandmas!
We had a grand time. We made merry, overate the oh-so-yummy food and took lots of photos. A young cousin who was very into photography, even brought his expensive gears and took semi-professional portraits of each family with GRANDMAMA, the main lead and celebrity of the evening.
*
The Sun morning 2 weeks later, I was awoken by my younger sister who was talking really loudly on the phone. What's going on, I asked.
"You better call mom now", was all that she said.
I did; she sounded panicky, "Grandma, she can't breathe.. she.. may not make it.. I am on my way to the hospital now.. "
Everything happened so quickly, we did not have time to react. Few of us made it to say our last goodbyes; Grandma passed away before the ambulance reached the final destination.
*
As was the custom, her 24-hour wake was held for 5 days. Most of us were there every single day.
The photo used for the wake was the one which was taken on Mother's Day, that special day when she dressed up in a beautiful maroon cheongsam top and smiled so widely, her sparkly eyes were mere lines. The one which was taken only 2 weeks earlier.
During the cremation, tears flowed till there were no more. Grandma's ashes were placed near her husband's who died 26 years ago and, as my mom often told me, loved her more than anything in the world.
R.I.P. Grandma.
The Calling - Could It Be Any Harder
You left me with goodbye and open arms
A cut so deep I don't deserve
You were always invincible in my eyes
The only thing against us now is time
Chorus:
Could it be any harder to say goodbye and without you,
Could it be any harder to watch you go, to face what's true
If I only had one more day
I lie down and blind myself with laughter
A quick fix of hope is what I'm needing
How I wish that I could turn back the hours
But I know I just don't have the power
Chorus
I'd jump at the chance,
We'd drink and we'd dance
And I'd listen close to your every word,
As if it's your last, I know it's your last,
Cause today, oh, you're gone
Chorus
Like sand on my feet,
The smell of sweet perfume
You stick to me forever
And I wish you didn't go
I wish you didn't go, I wish you didn't go away
To touch you again,
With life in your hands,
It couldn't be any harder.. harder.. harder
posted by redshot on 23.5.08
3 Comments:
Hello Bionic girl,
I've just bumped into your blog by accident... I was looking for some pictures of my beloved BKK's Brown Sugar jazz bar on google images and ended up reading your blog from 2004 to 2008. Something kept me stuck to your words...
Well, just wanted to tell you that someone from a very distant land of bulls and flamenco likes your writing and is surprisingly finding himself missing a completely stranger. This is weird... I feel that just with a couple of your lines you could write away my pain.
I really don't know if you are gonna be able to read this ever, but if you do, I would love to exchange a couple of emails with you. Really.
Even though it is a bit late now, please, accept my sympathy.
P.
Hi P,
Thanks for your kind words. It was a very pleasant surprise, esp. given that I haven't written for almost a year. Perhaps I will pick up my virtual pen again :)
Take care and hope to see you around.
- redshot
I'm glad that my bad english might make you write something after such a long time. It would be really nice to read you again someday. I'll be waiting around this place until you find your lost virtual pen...
Take care
P
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