Family Comes First!

Duck face with le grandma. xD

How close are you with your grandparents?
Me? Pretty close, especially the ones from my mom's side. :)
When Jess and I were kids we often spent our Sundays having dim-sum with our big family and after that we usually went to the mall and watched a movie together. My late grandpa usually enjoyed his own time at the food court (he really liked hopping from one food stall to another) or at the book store. Not that he was aloof or he didn't enjoy spending time with his family, it's just that he was afraid he'd be a trouble since he couldn't walk too fast. He was always like that, his principle was, "Always give and do good. It's best to not ask for help from others if you can do it yourself. Don't make other people feel uncomfortable or burdened because of you."

God, I miss him so much. :')

My grandma on the other hand, she loves to share her wisdom and stories to her grandkids. My favorite stories have always been the ones about my mom and her siblings (my aunt and uncles) when they were kids and teens, like who was the naughtiest, stupid things they did, how my grandpa used to punish them, and so on. She is also a very caring and loving woman yet tough to the in-laws, lol. I think it's one of the cancer woman's traits (protective to their children)? haha..

Anyway, when I was 7yo I got chickenpox and she was the one who took care of me at her home because my mom was afraid Jess and my brother would catch it from me (of course mom visited me every day ok). Grandma bathed me, cooked some healthy food for me, helped me memorizing the multiplication table so I wouldn't left behind at school, and we always had a random conversation before we went to bed. She loved to give me advices about men and relationship, and also... teach me about Chinese culture lol.

Clock-wise: Valen (our cousin), me, Jess, grandma

As time went on and work took priority over most other stuff, I found myself more and more distant from my grandparents. There was no more dim sum tradition, and I only met them on family events which I often missed because of work! :(

This quote is so true though:
"We are so busy growing up, we often forget they are also growing old."

I always thought they wouldn't go anywhere, and if they did, I must have been prepared for it.

Turned out, I was not. Not even close.

The day my grandpa earned his angel wings was one of the hardest moments I had to go through in my life. I certainly did not expect it to happen so soon. We were all so heartbroken and broke down in tears. He was a very good man and someone we all look up to, and we felt like we haven't done our best to repay his great love and kindness.

But, there is always a silver lining in the darkest of cloud. This tragic occurrence has made us all realized how important family is. As for Jess and I, we've made a resolution to cut ourselves some slack and make time at least once a week to spend some quality time with our grandma. Another resolution is to take as many family photos as possible! ;D

Mom - Mom's sister (aka Valen's mom) - Grandma

One of the best ways that you can do to strengthen the family (or friendship) bond is by doing activities together! Like this 'Sparkling Friendship Goes to HK' #FOXSSparklingHK activity! I asked my grandma to join it with me and we had SO much fun! You just have to post a picture of you and your BFF with your chosen FOX'S color theme here and don't forget to pose with FOX's candy too! :D

↑ Just so you know, it's really hard to stick out your tongue with a candy on it! I dropped two candies doing this pose! Anyway, LOLed at my grandma's expression! xD ↑

↑ Love how my grandma matched her top with a pair of pink trousers! Stylish nana!! :)) ↑

If I have to choose what color that best represents our relationship, I think it would be blue, as it is fresh and relaxed, just like water. HAHA!

Looking forward to more activities that we can do together!! :D

Elissa Yamada

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