My 'Ah Ma'

Someone once said, “It’s such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother or father, that’s why the world calls her grandmother.”

This is one of the truest statements I’ve ever read. The role of grandmother is certainly seen as a cornerstone in any family; however, whilst glancing at the dictionary one day, grandmother is simply defined as the mother of your father or mother. Even as I stand here today I find it difficult to put what my grandmother was into words, but I’ll try.

I know everyone can relate to me when I say that a grandmother is every person you wanted to be in life. Her home remedies made her the best doctor in the world. No doctor at a hospital would prescribe a spoonful of milk to get a foreign object from your eye or a piece of salted meat to remove a painful splinter from your finger, but they always worked to perfection. The way she was never wrong made her the best lawyer in the world. She could win any case with any grandchild by saying “because I said so.” When those four words were spoken, she was the judge, prosecution, and jury. No matter how many years you went to school, you could never be as smart as her. It didn’t matter if you had nine degrees; there was always something new you could learn from her. She was never incorrect, and even if she was, you’d never correct her otherwise a quick pop would remind you of who was really right. She was also your best friend. When your mom or dad said no, there was always grandma who could never turn you down. She was the best chef in the world. I don’t care if Emeril Lagasse personally prepared you a meal, nothing could be better than a home cooked meal from grandma. No one could beat her ‘sambal’, ‘asam soup’ (the best soup in the world), ‘dao iu bak’, and many many more.

Unfortunately my grandma’s currently suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. She started to forget things; she forgets what she did moments ago, forgets what she ate, forgets what people said to her, and sometimes even takes a long while to think who I am. Hopefully someday somehow there’s a cure for this disease……..

As I said, she is every person we wanted to be all rolled into one. She’s a confidante, a best friend, and a part of us. I believe that the dictionary should revise its definition of what a grandmother is because she is truly a person that is beyond definition.

Ah Ma, maybe someday you would forget all of us. BUT you’ll always be remembered in our heart forever.

YOU’RE THE BEST~