Granny 5-Year Memorial

Granny left us 5 years. It says time will dilute everything. 3 years pandemic separated China and US. In the last three years, it looks everything paused there, including our affections.

After pandemic I returned to Shanxi, walked through Nanbao village, Siqian village, Monan town, Ruicheng city, and Yuncheng city, met Grandpa and Great Grandpa, visited the cave and the old house. These are the places Granny lived before. Things are still there while people are long gone. It brought me to tears when I saw them.

I was born in Hecun village and lived there, my father, grandfather and great grand father were all there. Hecun is always my home with all my affections. When I see the temple of Guanyu, I feel so close; when I saw the classroom in the temple collapsed, I feel so sad. Granny was born in Chengdu a large city. Due to war, life changed dramatically, and she wandered to Nanbo village where her ancestors lived. But where is her root in her feeling? Granny struggled to survive in the village, then fought to success, then lived with oldest sister in Hejin city, then moved to US with us. When we chatted, I could not feel her affections of Nanbo, Siqian, Monan or Shanxi. I could not understand her feeling. Maybe it is the same feeling of the next generation, Cathy, Selena, Xiaoke, Xiaobang to our hometown.

Everyone has an anchor, a root, the link to hold self during floating. Granny might have put her kids as the anchor and root. Even the kids are floating weeds, she just floats with these floating weeds, even abroad.

Time does not dilute everything; it just diluted our sentiments and left the truth. Time put you again as the pioneer and the pillar. You cannot rest. You still need to work hard as our anchor and our root to link us together and take care of the family. You are still the most active member of the family!

Your son-in-law, Richard Zhang
Oct 8 th , 2023
Rose Hills, US

中文版-Chinese Version