09.2023 Story
grandmother
Far Eastern Dyeing&Finishing (Suzhou) / Youzhu
This year, the roses and roses blooming all over Suzhou remind me of the small flower bed in my grandmother's old yard when I was a child. There were also large roses full of fiery red and light pink, and in the surrounding gray soil walls and ryegrass houses, it was like a touch of green in the desert, particularly charming! Sporadic memories are shrouded in the hustle and bustle of life, once again opened up, like montage shots in movies with intermittency, unable to outline delicate details anymore
In my grandmother's kitchen, I once cooked the sweetest sugar and made the happy fruit for my uncle's wedding; In my grandmother's pot, I once made dumplings without filling for my cousin; In the main room of my grandmother's house, people who once crowded into the village watched black and white TV, including me who had seen it for the first time; The gate of my grandmother's house, I don't know how many times I have stepped in and out of it since childhood... The old jujube tree that once carried my childhood memories, soon disappeared outside the courtyard gate. The ditch a few steps away from the jujube tree and the growing calamus also disappeared together.
Shortly after my uncle got married, my grandmother and grandfather followed traditional customs and built two new thatched houses in their own vegetable garden. Although they lacked the vitality of greenery, they unloaded the burden of raising children. Perhaps this was the happiest time of their lives, and it was also the happiest time of my childhood.
However, compared to my uncle's wedding, I remember more how loud the firecrackers were and how prosperous the dowry was when my aunt got married. My grandmother's cabin was filled with wedding gifts, the wedding women were noisy, and the children's mouths and hands were filled with happy fruits and candy. It was so lively, and I also coveted the red scarf with beads on my aunt's scarf for a long time.
Because my mother is my grandmother's eldest daughter and married in Honying, my three siblings are certainly regular guests of my grandmother's family. Every New Year's Eve, we put down our dishes and come to pay respects to my grandfather and grandmother. At that time, we didn't understand filial piety at all. The main happiness came from the New Year's money given by my grandmother, which was the only fixed source of New Year's money besides my father, allowing me to buy my favorite learning supplies at school, Or secretly go to the small shop at the second grandma's house and buy a few favorite snacks.
Now when I think about it, I really feel happy. Unfortunately, at that time, I was not satisfied and envied other friends who could occasionally stay at my grandmother's house and several cousins from my second aunt's house, because each trip would take half a day and only take a few months to come. However, every time they arrived, the small courtyard would become particularly lively, with everyone competing to eat Grandma's fried striped potatoes and delicious braised earth rooster, although only a home cooked dish, they were all the most unique delicacies.
In front of my grandmother's small yard, there are several households in the village who have rice paddies. Except during busy farming seasons, the rest of the time is a good place for children to jump on the grid, play with rolling iron rings, and climb grass stacks. After dinner on a summer night, my mother would take us to take a break and watch the stars. We would lie on a sturdy bamboo bed supported by two benches, listening to adults chatting about our daily lives. When we were thirsty, we would pick the big green pears from the corner of the wall and eat them. It wasn't until late at night that we walked through the small earth dam on the river by moonlight and went home with my mother to sleep.
In that era without amusement facilities, my grandmother's house was undoubtedly our children's playground. Due to my grandmother's early death, my heart was even more reliant on her love. She is like the bright roses in her childhood, and because of her persistence, I, who belong to the "super life", am lucky to come to this world. For me, my grandmother is an indispensable existence in life.
After growing up, I went to school. Although I usually live on campus, I occasionally come home in the afternoon and can't find food. I still used to go to my grandmother's kitchen to look for a pot. In high school, my grandfather and grandmother, who were getting older, turned their small thatched cottage into a miscellaneous room and moved in with my uncle's new house. On summer afternoons, after taking a nap, I always like to pick up a small fan and carry a small stool, sitting next to my grandmother under the big willow tree in front of the door, listening to her gently telling the stories of the village for decades, or listening to her leisurely chatting with neighbors. Until the sun sets, my grandmother needs to go back to cook, and I have to complete the tasks assigned by my mother before each of them goes home.
After going out to work, there are fewer opportunities to meet my grandmother. Last August, after several years of not returning, I just went back to see her. Although her teeth had fallen off and she needed to rely on a walking aid when walking, when I scolded my mother for her poor waist and going to play mahjong, she still smiled and helped her daughter speak. I thought I could help her trim her nails next time I came home, but I didn't expect it to be only 3 months later. Goodbye to my grandmother, her thin and small body is already lying in an ice coffin. The person who had started to miss tea and rice before we left, full of eyes and hearts, now has no consciousness. If only she knew that all her children and grandchildren would come back and surround us, how happy and happy she would be!
Knowing that birth, aging, illness, and death are inevitable processes in life, I often feel very sad when I think about them. Some people say, "The most painful moment of losing a loved one is not the moment of loss, but every moment of missing her in the future. I can't keep my grandmother, nor can I keep the beauty of my childhood
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In my grandmother's kitchen, I once cooked the sweetest sugar and made the happy fruit for my uncle's wedding; In my grandmother's pot, I once made dumplings without filling for my cousin; In the main room of my grandmother's house, people who once crowded into the village watched black and white TV, including me who had seen it for the first time; The gate of my grandmother's house, I don't know how many times I have stepped in and out of it since childhood... The old jujube tree that once carried my childhood memories, soon disappeared outside the courtyard gate. The ditch a few steps away from the jujube tree and the growing calamus also disappeared together.
Shortly after my uncle got married, my grandmother and grandfather followed traditional customs and built two new thatched houses in their own vegetable garden. Although they lacked the vitality of greenery, they unloaded the burden of raising children. Perhaps this was the happiest time of their lives, and it was also the happiest time of my childhood.
However, compared to my uncle's wedding, I remember more how loud the firecrackers were and how prosperous the dowry was when my aunt got married. My grandmother's cabin was filled with wedding gifts, the wedding women were noisy, and the children's mouths and hands were filled with happy fruits and candy. It was so lively, and I also coveted the red scarf with beads on my aunt's scarf for a long time.
Because my mother is my grandmother's eldest daughter and married in Honying, my three siblings are certainly regular guests of my grandmother's family. Every New Year's Eve, we put down our dishes and come to pay respects to my grandfather and grandmother. At that time, we didn't understand filial piety at all. The main happiness came from the New Year's money given by my grandmother, which was the only fixed source of New Year's money besides my father, allowing me to buy my favorite learning supplies at school, Or secretly go to the small shop at the second grandma's house and buy a few favorite snacks.
Now when I think about it, I really feel happy. Unfortunately, at that time, I was not satisfied and envied other friends who could occasionally stay at my grandmother's house and several cousins from my second aunt's house, because each trip would take half a day and only take a few months to come. However, every time they arrived, the small courtyard would become particularly lively, with everyone competing to eat Grandma's fried striped potatoes and delicious braised earth rooster, although only a home cooked dish, they were all the most unique delicacies.
In front of my grandmother's small yard, there are several households in the village who have rice paddies. Except during busy farming seasons, the rest of the time is a good place for children to jump on the grid, play with rolling iron rings, and climb grass stacks. After dinner on a summer night, my mother would take us to take a break and watch the stars. We would lie on a sturdy bamboo bed supported by two benches, listening to adults chatting about our daily lives. When we were thirsty, we would pick the big green pears from the corner of the wall and eat them. It wasn't until late at night that we walked through the small earth dam on the river by moonlight and went home with my mother to sleep.
In that era without amusement facilities, my grandmother's house was undoubtedly our children's playground. Due to my grandmother's early death, my heart was even more reliant on her love. She is like the bright roses in her childhood, and because of her persistence, I, who belong to the "super life", am lucky to come to this world. For me, my grandmother is an indispensable existence in life.
After growing up, I went to school. Although I usually live on campus, I occasionally come home in the afternoon and can't find food. I still used to go to my grandmother's kitchen to look for a pot. In high school, my grandfather and grandmother, who were getting older, turned their small thatched cottage into a miscellaneous room and moved in with my uncle's new house. On summer afternoons, after taking a nap, I always like to pick up a small fan and carry a small stool, sitting next to my grandmother under the big willow tree in front of the door, listening to her gently telling the stories of the village for decades, or listening to her leisurely chatting with neighbors. Until the sun sets, my grandmother needs to go back to cook, and I have to complete the tasks assigned by my mother before each of them goes home.
After going out to work, there are fewer opportunities to meet my grandmother. Last August, after several years of not returning, I just went back to see her. Although her teeth had fallen off and she needed to rely on a walking aid when walking, when I scolded my mother for her poor waist and going to play mahjong, she still smiled and helped her daughter speak. I thought I could help her trim her nails next time I came home, but I didn't expect it to be only 3 months later. Goodbye to my grandmother, her thin and small body is already lying in an ice coffin. The person who had started to miss tea and rice before we left, full of eyes and hearts, now has no consciousness. If only she knew that all her children and grandchildren would come back and surround us, how happy and happy she would be!
Knowing that birth, aging, illness, and death are inevitable processes in life, I often feel very sad when I think about them. Some people say, "The most painful moment of losing a loved one is not the moment of loss, but every moment of missing her in the future. I can't keep my grandmother, nor can I keep the beauty of my childhood
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