Musing #15

~Advice at Ninety~

My dear grandmother, a spiritually strong woman with a deep faith, had her birthday a few weeks ago.  Ninety ...in chinese years as she always likes to add.  And for all her birthday's past that I can recall, she has never ever asked her grandchildren for anything.  I'm more accustomed to her usual "take better care of your health and sleep early!" or "you should stop wasting so much money going on vacation with your friends!"  And all these grandma-isms I've always accepted as her special way of telling me that she loves, worries, and cares for me. 

But this year was different. 

After birthday family dinner in Burlingame, my brother and I drove her back to her house in SF where she lives alone.  We helped her in with her new bday gifts that she probably won't ever use because they're new and sat down for a bit.  We chatted some and while my bro hit the bathroom right before we were about to leave, my grandmother turned to me and said in a soft serene voice:

Grandma337: "Kenny... I think it's time you look for a girlfriend.  Don't you want to get married?  I'm ninety today and I would like to see one of you guys get married."

kenny337: ......

Grandma337: "When you have time, take a day off of work, come visit me, and I will tell you how to meet a nice girl."

kenny337: ......

I couldn't believe it.  After so many years of being told not to date or be too serious about girls and just focus on school and not get fired from my job... here she was... my ninety year old grandmother on her birthday.... suggesting that it was about time for me... to get a date.  My brother who had already come out of the bathroom just laughed his ass off.  And I just sat there on the sofa, speechless.  I couldn't believe it!  I couldn't believe grandma was going to give me a lesson on how to have any game!  It was getting late, so we gave her a hug and headed for home.  But the last thing I said to her with a smile was that I would make it back up to visit, get her wise advice sometime soon, and that the best thing she could do would be to pray for me