Miss you grandpa on Chinese New Year

Technically Chinese New Year is still a few hours away in China. And my grandpa passed away just a few days earlier on Feb 1st, China time. I wasn't able to make it to his funeral, life can be so unpredictable and cruel.

When my brother was telling me the news during face time, he said "Sis, you had always been grandpa's favorite..." and we both started bawling. I know, I know. I owe everything to my grandpa, he was like a mother and father to me when my parents were too busy to have time for me. The news was a shock that I was never prepared for. I knew that my grandpa won't live forever, but I never allowed myself to think that this will happen so soon. My grandpa was at 83, a well lived age, but yet I always thought that we would celebrate his birthdays in the years to come during summer vacations.

My brother told me that grandpa had played chinese chess with his friends the day before and had a nice dinner with the family in town that night. He even made breakfast the next morning on Feb 1st, started up the heating stove and cleaned up before he set down on his usual chair... He never got up again. I am grateful that he didn't have to suffer when he died, although, I so wish that I was there to say goodbye.

Grandpa was always a strong and cheerful person no matter what life threw at him. Even went through the Cultural Revolution, being sent away as a punishment, being poor for so many years and being looked down on for having no sons for most of his life. His best years as he would call it, was when he was a principle at the elementary school. He had always carried himself as a teacher through out the years even after he quit teaching.

There are so many things that I am grateful for my grandpa:  He influenced me to love exercise; He showed me the example of being a hard-worker; He sacrificed his years of life devoted to bringing me up and supporting me through my life challenges. Without him, my teen years could have ended up badly. Words cant express how grateful I am to my dear grandpa and how much I love him.

The only photo that I had of grandpa and me when I was growing up was this one:

I can tell that grandpa was trying to tell me to look at the camera in such a loving way! My hair just got chopped off, so I assume I was about kindergarten age then. Now I know where Enoch got the crazy pic faces from ;)  

These photos were from when we celebrated grandpa's 80th birthday.

Also some photos from our chinese wedding.

Grandparents aren't used to have photos taken ;) 

Miss you grandpa, on Chinese New Year. From now on, every Chinese New Year I will always remember you.