Happy 93rd Birthday 外婆 !

My maternal grandmother (外婆) will be celebrating her 93rd birthday tomorrow. It is on the 3rd of the 8th month of the chinese calendar.

She was born in Nanjing, China in 1916 and moved to Taiwan with her whole family during the war sometime around the year 1946. She is now living alone in an apartment in Taiwan bought for her by my aunt (her eldest daughter who is now living in Canada). My uncle (her youngest son) will visit her a few times a week and both of them will go shopping for grocery. She still cooks her own meals and will travel on the bus on her own to visit her friends for mahjung sessions. She is a very independent lady.

Although my grandmother has 2 sons and 7 daughters, she chooses to live on her own. Her children are scattered around the world. My mother in Malaysia, two of my aunts in Canada, another two aunts in USA and one in China. One aunt and both my uncles living in Taiwan visit her regularly.

I have only visited my grandmother 4 times in my 38 years of living and she has only visited us in Malaysia 3 times. She says Malaysia is too hot for her so she won't be visiting us here anymore. She speaks the Nanjing dialect so sometimes I find it difficult to understand what she is saying to me.

I wish my grandmother a very Happy Birthday and may she have the best of health!