This article is dedicated to my grandparents who I really miss and who I shared good times with. I wonder how things would have been if things happened different but I guess it had to be this way. They will always have a special place in my heart and I hope they watch over me and my parents.
My grandfather (mothers side):
I’ve never known my grandfather because he died at a fairly young age a long time before I was born. But from what I hear from my mother he was a kind and hard working man. I wonder how he would have influenced me if he was still alive when I was younger. All I can do is wonder about who my grandfather was and listen to the stories that my mother tells me about him.
My grandmother (mothers side):
My grandmother was also a sweet and kind woman. Me and my parents lived on the second floor and my grandmother lived on the first floor so I saw her every single day of my life. She used to babysit me each day when I got home from elementary school. I can still clearly remember that I was allowed to drink a sip of her coffee when I was still a young child. She used to drink it with milk and a lot of sugar; I guess that’s why I’m drinking my coffee with milk and a lot of sugar. I’m a real sweet tooth. 😀 We used to watch Chinese movies and every weekend the whole family came together and enjoyed each others company.
Every Saturday and Sunday my aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces came over and we had a good time. I really miss those weekend that I saw everyone, the only times I see a large part of the family are with birthdays, weddings and other special occasions. The one thing that has remained a tradition is the celebration of new years day each year. Every year the family (a large part of it) comes to my parents’ house and we all celebrate the beginning of the New Year. And each passing year I keep getting surprised at how much all of my little nephews and nieces have grown since the last time that I saw them. I guess I’m getting old. 😛
I can’t help but sometimes wonder how the last twelve years would have been if my grandmother would still have been alive. She was a beautiful woman and I sometimes (well just about every time) get tears in my eyes when I really start thinking about her. She lived independently until the very last day of her long life. She did her own groceries and cooking. When I grow old I want to be just like her (and like my grandfather from my fathers’ side), doing everything myself until my dying day. Grandmother, I miss and love you !!!
My grandfather (fathers side):
I’ll always remember my grandfather as a man that did everything himself till his dying day (just like my grandmother from my mothers’ side). He was a kind and gentle man that did a lot for his family. He loved gardening and just about every day he was busy in his garden. Whenever he came to visit us in Amsterdam (he lived in Den Bosch, which is a city in the south of The Netherlands) we used to play cards along with my grandmother (his wife). He also loved to go out to the market and just go shopping. Most of the times when he got back from the market he brought some French fries or other snacks back with him. We used to snack together since he would always buy for everyone.
When he got older he couldn’t do as much as he used to, but he still did as much as he could until he couldn’t anymore. Things went really bad just before the summer holiday in the year 2000. That year my and my parents had already booked tickets for New York to go on vacation. He was hospitalized about 1 week before we were supposed to go on holiday. Me and my parents went to visit him because the doctors told us that he could pass away at any given time.
When I got to his room and saw him laying in that hospital bed my heart just shattered to pieces. I just started crying my heart out. Or at least what was left of my heart at that moment in time. I couldn’t believe that the man laying in that bed was my grandfather. The rest of the family was also there and we stayed for a while and everyone said goodbye to him in their own way. We went back home and I can vaguely remember the phone ringing in the middle of the night but I thought I was dreaming at the time.
The next morning my father woke me up and told me the my grandfather died in the middle of the night. I just started crying again with a mixed feeling this time. I was sad because my grandfather just passed away but I was also glad that he didn’t have to suffer to long. Because if he did have to suffer my sadness would have been much more. Grandfather, I miss and love you !!!
My grandmother (fathers side):
What to say about my grandmother. It’s hard to see someone you love growing demented. My grandmother doesn’t know a thing that has happened the last few years. But she still knows a lot of what happened a long time ago. Sadly she can’t do anything herself anymore. Whenever I visit her and see her my heart doesn’t break as it did when I saw my grandfather before he died. Maybe it’s because she’s deteriorating gradually. But it does hurt to see her getting worse. I can only hope that I reach her age and have children and grandchildren of my own because anything can happen in life. Grandmother, I love you.