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Above is a picture of me with my paternal grandmother-in-law. This year she will have 100 years of living tucked under her belt! My wife's family assures me that this is absolutely true! Doesn't she look well for her age? I took the opportunity to ask her how she was and what’s the secret that given her a century innings. My wife translated for me and the answer unfortunately was a little depressing… she simply said she wished she knew how to die… fed up of not being able to go anywhere because of her fragility…. ah well I suppose maybe she just might have been on one of her off days for she was agile enough to walk around her own home.Something I did learn that day though is that the secret for her long living was in evidence all around her. Much of the food she and her family eat is grown in her own garden - lots of different kinds of vegetables and fruits, grown free of chemicals and manmade fertilizer. Maybe also the hardworking but simple and uncomplicated lifestyle, free of the stresses of modern day living, will have contributed too.
And there was something else I reckoned… the water! Yeah it’s the water… it has to be the water I’m telling ya! I know I seen it with my own eyes – it’s the water they drink! (Compelling dialogue huh?) It doesn’t come from a mains tap but from the family well. When I drank some that day I felt a hundred years younger!
And just maybe it’s the tea she drinks! I remember when I first tasted Vietnamese green tea… one word came to my mind… piss. Now I don’t know why I thought that because you know I’ve never tasted piss – you can rest assured. Seriously though I’ve actually come to quite like Vietnamese tea – it’s an acquired taste. So that’s what I’m going to do – start drinking more green tea.
I’m determined to live a long life and greet death on my last day as a merry old man. I’ve my own paternal grandmother to thank for that attitude. She made it to 91 and I remember well the last time I saw her in hospital before she pegged it (about 15 years ago) she gave me this big beautiful smile. It was kind of very reassuring because she knew her time was nearly up. That smile has stayed with me ever since and somehow gives me the strength to make the most of this life.
In spite of all the troubles old age often brings I see a beauty in it that helps me to carry a firm hope all the way to the end… This brings me to a really lovely poem I found this morning by Cynthia Bateman.
All the Way to the End
Finely drawn cheekbones
Under almond-shaped eyes
Lined with kohl.
Long hair, dark and luxurious
Falling to her waist.
The face in the photo is bright
With laughter.
A beautiful day,
A beautiful woman.
Once upon a time.
The chiseled features of her face
Are softened now,
The skin gently lined.
Years have paled the hair
And thinned its luxury.
She sits in the sun
Wearing a hat to escape its rays.
She laughs gently
At a joke told
By the one beside her.
He's also in the photograph,
Tall and handsome,
Rough-hewn and strong,
Dark hair blowing
In yesterday's breeze.
They laugh together now
As he teases her over some
Long-acknowledged foible.
Time has bent his height and
Smoothed his rough edges.
The softness of her laughter and
Her gentle touch on his face.
The comfort he feels in her presence
And the trust they share
Replace the fire of earlier days.
Slowed is the rush
To get from place to place
As years creep to their end.
Time fades colorful faces
Yet beauty remains.
There is no beauty like that of
Long love and a long life lived
Without regret.
Joy etches its imprint on each
Face it graces.
Youth is glorious in its beauty.
Bold and glittering.
Extravagantly spending its days.
Like money in the bank
Not thinking of tomorrow.
The beauty of age is refined,
With a gentler glow,
A reward for the life well-lived.
Age is the interest earned
On the savings of joy.http://www.runesmag.com/html/summer05/index.php?content=story16
My grandmother lived to the age of 99, at 97, her doctor told her to start watching her cholestorol! I can still remember her reaction to that, "Land sakes (when she said that, she was truly upset!), he wants me to start watching it now???" haha Thanks for the post. Beautiful poem!
So very nice blog! You are being very Vietnamese! Thank you for sharing!
By the way, the grandmom looks very well for her age!
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