My grandpa

I made this comment in regards to the Little Nonya tele-series they are showing on Channel 8 at this moment. Baba and Nonya doesnt speak Mandarin. I guess you probably knew that deep down too but just din realise while watching the show.

Interestingly this is one of the rare shows my whole family enjoys catching. My dad would comment on the traditional nonya cakes and dishes that he has not tasted for decades. My mom would try to see how to incorporate some new ideas into her cooking. My sis would stared endlessly at 715 and I would be amused of the funny costumes and hair they made Joanne Peh put on.

Indeed watching this little series brought up a little fire in my dad. Its after all the memories of the past that gets him all nostalgic. The years after the war was a terrible time for all. And for those whom grew up the Peranakan heritage, they never understand such hardship before.

My grandma (whom I dearly call Mama) was a wealthy young lady before she met my granddad (whom I call Ah ye). The war took away plenty of the fortune and wealth. And true enough, rich and influential "friends" were all forgotten.

I am not too sure on my grandparents romance story and wonder if they indeed had one. But I do know one thing and that is my Mama loves Ah ye plenty. Sadly, I could not say the same for Ah ye. He was what I deemed as the James Bond without the gadgets and the secret spy mission roles. He is just that, if you know what I am hinting.

Despite this all, Mama never gave up on him. He was still her husband and father to all the five sons. And also to ermmm 10+ grandchildren.

Now that my Mama whom binds our bigger family together has left us. We are left with Ah ye to hold us close. I dare not wonder further what would happen if he would to leave us. Would our bigger family still come together during CNY. Would we still meet up just as often.

However the past couple of years had not been kind to him. He was staying alone right up to 1998 I believed. He preferred the bachelor life and only after an accident prompted us to forcefully moved him out of his bachelor pad. He was moved to my aunt's place where my grandma stayed with.

Over the years, the impact of the accident slowly resulted in memory losses and errant behavior. Then came a night when he became violent for no apparent reason and we had no choice but to place him in the care of a nursing home. He has been there ever since.

Just yesterday, I rush down along with my dad to the hospital. Ah ye has pneumonia and a high fever. The doctor was not too optimistic on his condition. In a sense, we are all preparing for the worse once again.

You might wonder why we would bother after all he din fulfilled his part in the family. Well the simple reason is that he is my granddad, a father to my dad and a husband to my mama. No water is thicker than blood.