Walking into the Sunset

The day started early.
Today's the 15th and the 'official' last day of Chinese New Year (the moon's usually full tonight and every 15th of the Chinese Calendar month!) My uncle drove and picked me and my aunts up at our houses, before driving to my grandmother's grave where we paid our respects.

My grandma died 7 years ago when she was 81 years old. Several of my cousins, including me, was under my grandma's care when we were still infants growing up. She was Straits-born Chinese, and usually spoke a mix of Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) and Malay. I remembered my mum telling me that when I was very young, my grandma spoke to me in Malay, while I replied to her in English. We understood each other perfectly :)

Relatives on both my dad and mum's sides of the family who passed on into their next life were usually cremated, so I was curious why my grandma had a burial instead. According to my second aunt, grandma had expressed her wish of burial to her Pastor Maureen, though we do not really know her reason behind it.

It could be a visit to my grandma's grave,
a home-visit to an old-time kampong (Malay for 'village') neighbour,
a neice's birthday, or a shopping trip;
from time to time my aunts will invite me along too.
Just like they would have done so with my mum.

I don't think they expect me to wholly take on her roles, or fill her shoes.. I am after all, my mother's daughter, and their neice.
Instead, perhaps they hope they could be a source of support for me especially when there isn't a significant mother figure in my life right now; perhaps, they would like to make sure that I don't feel left out.

It is heartening to see the effort they make,
and I appreciate the little steps they take
to make me feel that I'm still part of the larger family.

:]
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[photo taken with: SE k800i; I told my brother that in the puddle's reflection, it seemed as if he was literally walking off into the sunset ;) ]