Family & Friends - (Part 5 of Many...)

Our grandmother was a pretty amazing woman and continues to inspire & awe me today. She was widowed at the age of 32 with 5 kids, 7 years and younger. (As the youngest in her family, our mom was only a few months old when her father passed away.) Perhaps it is worth reminding that welfare/social services were not nearly as widespread/encompassing back then as they are now - (granted, we arguably still have a longs ways to go) - and that's reflected even more so in Asian countries where there is still a very strong cultural belief that poverty should be one's own business and it's up to the family to take care of each other when one of its members is going through a rough period.

Needless to say times were pretty rough and as a single woman raising a family in Taiwan during the 1960s, I can't even begin to imagine where/how our grandmother (or 婆) was able to find the strength to carry on. But she learned how to manage and eventually was able to reunite all her children together and provide them with a commendably indulgent and happy life.

While I am fortunate to have some remembrance of our grandmother, Liliane was only 6 months old when our grandma passed away. In reading one of Liliane's diary entries, she mentioned how she wished she could have had some memories of her own with our grandma. (She is our 婆's youngest grandchild.) Knowing that my sister is now reunited with our grandma again has been a great source of peace and comfort these past few months and I'm sure wherever they are, they're busy creating many happy memories together...

Pictures dated 3/9/1994 - 21 years ago from today