A happy childhood memory

So I was just whining (per usual) to my boyfriend about how stressed out I am about writing my application essay. And my precocious boyfriend responds with (what else?) "Why don't you become a doll fashion designer?"

Yes, non sequitur conversations practically are the essence of our relationship.

But as I thought more about it, I realize that designing doll clothes really is a lot of fun. I remember as a girl, I was about 9, my grandmother used to spend summers at our house and would keep my sister and me company. She was already in her 60's but she kept up with us with amazing vigor. She would play badminton with us, she taught my sister how to ride a bike (maybe she taught me too, but my sister was somewhat slower to pick it up than me) and we often took long walks in the park. On some days, we took a rolling suitcase with us and ambled to the public library to stock up on books. My grandma also liked to make zhong zi for us and other sweets. She was very conscientious about taking care of us and always nagged us to cover up our abdomens, so as to not "catch a cold drift." Curiously enough, whenever I didn't heed her advice and let my stomach be exposed to wind, I would shortly get a stomach-ache. It is still true today. Psycho-somatic or true Chinese pearls of wisdom? I still don't know.

On rainy days, Grandma would sit with us and help us sew clothes for our poor barbie dolls. Since we were not a rich family, my mom couldn't exactly afford to buy barbie houses and loads of barbie clothes. But we were still lucky enough. We were never deprived. We at least did have barbies. I remember that she'd, being a Grandmother, would sew very old-fashioned, stodgy clothes like a green vest and knee length shorts. Practical as ever, she figured her duty was done if she saw these dolls get clothed, looking good was another matter. Sometimes her eyesight would fail her and she would ask me or my sister to put the thread through the eye of the needle for her. It was always so easy for me, and it was hard to understand why it was difficult for her. I chalked it up to the fact that she was just old.

At night, sometimes we would watch Chinese soap operas. I remember Grandma had a habit of using the toothpick to pick her teeth after meal times. I don't think she was overly conscientious about dental hygiene otherwise, but she had really good strong teeth and never had to get dentures.

I also remember when Grandma sometimes laughed, and she doesn't laugh often, she would laugh until she teared up, her face collapsed in helpless giggles. She was always very soft to the touch and I liked grabbing her arm and then telling her, Grandma, how come your skin is so soft? She always seemed pleased and smiled and said, I don't know. Just because. I now realize that old age has made her muscles deteriorate until her flesh became soft and pliant. But despite her age, she remained very smooth and wrinkle-free. She had dark skin, but it was very good skin. I like to think that I have inherited some of that from her.

Now that I think back, Grandma was really very active and versatile for her age. Before the onset of a painful disc inflammation in her spine, she was always up and about and kept up with us kids with relative ease. She would stay up with me during the time when I was beset by coughing for a good two weeks. It always came on at night and would keep me up for hours. It was so painful. I went to see every pediatrician in the county. My grandma would help take care of me during those horrible nights and worried as much as my parents, if not more. Later when she had her disc inflammation, she was immobilized and bed-ridden. We were too young to do much but we tried to help, patting her with our ineffectual fists, trying to massage her pain away. She always told us that it helped, even though it may be more to ease us. She was in so much pain, she couldn't walk. We took her to California to have acupuncture done. While there, I was also forced to undergo acupuncture for the treatment of my nosebleeding. It was a very nightmarish week, but being the brave little girl that I was, I always got a lollipop after each acupuncture session.

Wow, talk about stream of consciousness. I have to admit that I haven't thought about these memories in a long time now. But I am still very grateful for having lived through them and having been loved by my Grandmother so fiercely, so protectively.