Day 22 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I got sidetracked by Gia Carangi’s story enroute here. What a sad tale about a beautiful woman who had it all in a couple years and to lose it all equally fast. Then to die of AIDS at age 26. It sucked the energy right out of me. I could have done without the story. I am so easily sidetracked. I am so human. Not much will power today.
But if I was having coffee with my mother, her stories would be more uplifting even if they were sad. I never get tired of her stories no matter how many times I have heard them. I’ve learned alot about our family’s and China’s history from her stories. There were stories of hardships during the Japanese invasion. Then there were the times of Mao’s communism when my grandfather escaped with his life to Hong Kong. My grandmother was arrested and jailed in his place. Too many stories of that time to recount here today. My mother and her siblings always talk about those times whenever we visited them in New York City.
She has happy stories, too, of them growing up. There were 7 of them. My aunt was the oldest, followed by 3 brothers, then my mother and then 2 more brothers. I think that my aunt had the best childhood, being in peace time and no wars. She had more schooling. My mother was not so lucky. She loved school but only got to grade 3 because of the Japanese invasion. My grandfather was a teacher and principal of the school. He was also the mayor of the village. Because of that some people who were jealous accused him of corruption when the opportunity came.
When my grandmother was dying, she was angry with him. Because of his work, she had to suffer. I think she was 71. She had lung cancer. She and my grandfather were in New York then. I missed the funeral. I was in Saskatoon going to university. My mother said the funeral procession was very long.
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Lily, what powerful memories of your family! I only learned about the Japanese invasion of China several years ago. Japan really believed they were going to govern China. Now, that seems laughable, but they believed it. Speaking of family memories, I recently became the unintentional matriarch of my family, both on my side and on my husband’s side. I am the only one left who remembers some events and family occurrences as they happened. I even have some pictures no one else alive has ever seen. Lily, let’s keep telling those stories. We are the historians now.
What a beautiful family story. People really had to struggle to live each day, but, sometimes, it was beyond their control. Yet people, such as your family, are so strong and resilient. Thank you for sharing your story.
What a sad, but powerful story, Lily. The women in your family must have been very strong to leave their homeland and start again. It was often easier for men, because they were usually working and learning new customs and language in the process. The women were often left in the shadows. It’s good to know that the stories are being written by you, to preserve them.