GRANDMA

I heard this story from my dad. It was about my grandma, a 77-year old woman, kind and tough.

My grandma came across my grandpa in a small city when she was 16. They fell in love with each other and were soon married. But after they had three children, grandma suddenly found out that her husband had a wife in another town before she married to him. She was disappointed and furious.  She couldn’t believe that the man she loved had been cheating on her for such a long time. After thinking about the situation for a long time, she made a brave decision. She left my grandpa, and took little son. She told no one.

The little son was my dad. He was two years old then.

Life was really hard for a single woman and a little boy. Grandma didn’t take much money with her. She had a child of two and could not find a job. There was so little money they were always hungry. 

After several months’ journey, they finally settled down in a beautiful little village called Yuan Po and began their new life. But the new life was tough. Grandma felt discrimination. The people in the village were prejudiced. They felt grandma was a stranger. They didn’t want to share the resources with an “immigrant”. They looked down upon a woman with a child but no husband. Nobody was willing to help her. The other kids made fun of her son. Some of them even tried to stay away from her.

That situation upset grandma. But she never cried to her son even though she heard mean words from others. She tried her best to raise her little son. She worked hard day and night, planting, washing, sewing and mending. She looked for any chance to get a job, even washing clothes. Further more, grandma was always willing to help others even if she was poor and weak.  Luckily, her son was a good boy. He never made trouble and helped where he could. “You are my only hope, my son,” She always said.      

As time passed by, the people started to accept the kind and hard-working woman. They began to understand grandma and changed their attitude to her. One man, a carpenter, really appreciated grandma and pursued her. He was not a handsome man but kind and generous. His sincerity moved grandma. So she married him and lived a happy life from that day on.

Grandma has six children. All her children respect and love her. Now she lives in my uncle’s home and helps to raise his children. “Raising my grandchildren is my favorite job,” she said.