My grandma is one of my favorite people in my life. She is the reason that this blog exists, and she has played a big hand in who I am today. I love her with so much of my heart, and it hurts knowing that people are targeting the elderly of the Asian community. I'm terrified of the day that I learn my grandma won't be in my life anymore, and I don't want that day to come sooner than it has to.
Please have the empathy and compassion to respect other people and to be kind to them no matter what race they are or if they don't agree with you. We're all human, and we should all feel safe and be treated with kindness and respect. No one should be targeted just because of their race.
I had to say that before I got into today's topic. With International Women's Day being yesterday, I wanted to do a feature of the woman who inspires this blog for me. Keep reading for my answers to 6 interview questions about Grandma Sau.
What is your favorite thing to do with Grandma Sau?
I love simply spending time with my grandma, because she's always been around for me. My grandma tells me about how soon after they had me, my parents hired a babysitter so that they could go back to work. One day, my dad returned home because he forgot something, and he saw me crying in my crib while the babysitter was in another room on the phone. That's when he asked my grandma to come live with us.
I've always been fortunate to have her in my life, and she did a lot of things to keep me preoccupied. I remember loving card games as a kid, and she would play with me even though I would cheat at War. She made sure that I got outside, and even walked to my elementary school so I wouldn't have to walk home alone. Now, we sit on the couch watching Food Network together and wonder how come the food we make doesn't look or taste as good as it looked on TV.
What do you think that Grandma liked to do when she was your age?
I think my grandma would've appreciated a chance at an education, but maybe I'm biased because I appreciate mine so much. Something about her gender and her place in the family line up stopped her parents from sending her to school, and she was instead expected to stay home, bring clothes down to the river to do laundry, clean house, and prepare dinner. Maybe that's why she's always been such a great homemaker, but I will always wonder what he life could've looked like if she had been able to take that chance.
If you could send Grandma on vacation anywhere, where would you send her?
I wouldn't send my grandma anywhere without me! I think my dream would be to have her give me a tour of the village she grew up at back in Vietnam. I hope to be able to go to Vietnam with her so I can experience it through her eyes, but I know there are a lot of complicated feelings on the matter. On the other hand, I know that she has always wanted to see Hawaii, so maybe I would send her there.
How did Grandma Sau meet her husband?
Every time my grandma sees young girls and boys interacting, her inclination is always to tell me about how segregated the genders were when she lived in Vietnam. She always tells me that she would get in trouble if her parents caught a boy so much as look at her, and that's how she first met my grandpa. He saw her from across the way, and she got in trouble for it.
What was Grandma Sau's reaction to your birth?
Every year when my birthday rolls around, it always manages to sneak up on Grandma Sau. She always asks me how old I'm turning, and then proceeds to say something along the lines of, "Really? You're that old now? It feels like just yesterday you were a tiny little baby who would cry at anyone who wasn't me or your parents." So you can probably assume that I was a crying machine when she first met me as a newborn, and that probably still carries over to who I am today. I'm very attuned to my emotions.
What do you hope to never forget about Grandma Sau?
I don't think I'll forget her, ever. It's hard to forget someone who played such a key role in my life, and who has basically been 98% of my life.
Who is someone who has impacted you? Do you have a close relationship with your grandparents? What is your favorite memory with your grandparents? Tell me in the comments below!
Thanks for taking the time to read the blog. Until the next one, I hope you have some tasty times.
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