A place in my heart...

Was at my table reading when suddenly I felt an insistent nudge to pick up my camera and take a peek at what my grandmother was up to. It was after dinner and she had made her way up to her room. It was rather quite and she did not notice that I had winced my way slightly into her privacy. I thought I could get a good spy picture of her but the gap was too small to fit my already tiny camera. I made my entry and quickly snapped a few pictures (was fast enough before she retaliated or obliged) and then ended up chatting with her after that.

Grandma or more fondly known as Mah Mah is a living proof graceful ageing. Over the last two years, I have seen her gradually settling and acknowledging her capabilities at her age. Her stubborn streaks still get in the way of her independence, but she has learnt to let go and let the people around serve her. The many stories she has told me in the past is what I reckon the root of strong headedness sprung out from. Mah Mah is a very capable woman, slogging her whole life to achieve her dream of becoming a midwife and then working even harder to raise her four children with Yeh Yeh. She speaks passionately about her work as a midwife in the rural villages. But what I admire most is her unwavering faith and trust in God when she speaks of all her hardships, experiences and adventures in her life. From getting through her education, delivering babies, escaping near to death experiences during WW2, meeting Yeh Yeh, giving birth to her children and relationships in her life. She would often say, “Debbie, if it’s not because of God, I really don’t know where I’d be now”. By the by when I sing that old hymn ‘Because He lives, I can face tomorrow’, I’d remember Mah Mah sitting at the dressing table softly humming that tune with tears streaming down her cheek.

Mah Mah’s favourite pastime is still reading. She would memorize memory verses and I would occasionally test her on some. For more light hearted reads, she has recently picked up a liking for Sidney Sheldon. Finishing the thick book in just a few days, she re-read it twice! I gave her an old collection of Christian novels to keep her occupied. And when I strike up a conversation with her about the books I loaned her, she would say, “Don’t ask me what the story is about, I need to see the cover first then I will tell you”. And amazingly, it’s true! Her memory has diminished somewhat but it’s still very good for an 86 year old woman!

In many ways Mah Mah has touched my heart and life. And it’s in these years that she can truly spend her time as lavishly as she wants to. With so many hours in a day to herself, she looks forward everyday to a car ride down with my dad to KL to pick mom up. And when the weekends swing around, she would wait in patient anticipation for our Sunday family dinners. Occasionally offering to pay but never succeeds.

There’s such a lot to celebrate in life and people take a special place in our hearts and life. Relationships are what make us rich – Mah Mah’s one that has enriched my life tremendously and this month she celebrates her 87^th birthday!