My grandfather is 87 years old. He is the oldest man in my family.
When I was a kid, he fetched me from school, looked after me after school and provide lunch for me.
I enjoyed the afternoons with him - sipping kopi from the coffee saucer in a kopitiam, watching HK drama (4 episodes in a row), playing chess and losing all the time. In fact, much of my childhood memories involve spending private time with my grandfather.
I moved out of my grandparents' place when I started my second year in NUS. The main reason I moved back to my own house was because my house is in Dover Road, I can walk to NUS on school days! However, my grandfather's health started to deteriorate. He was semi-deaf by then, suffered from heart problem and later developed symtoms of stroke. Therefore, during my vacation, I always go back to visit him or fetch him to hospitals for medical appointments.
As years passed, his health condition only worsened.
About 2 months ago, when I was still teaching in Shanghai (last week of school term), I received a very long email from my sister about my grandfather's health status. He was suffering badly from digestion problem. From the email, I sensed that my sister was telling me to prepare for the worst. For the next few days, I kept checking my emails and handphone, expecting bad news from home. Then, I received a second email from my sister, saying that my grandfather's health condition had improved after a week of hospitalization.
When I returned to Singapore during my summer vacation, I spent as much time as I can with my grandfather. Every smile, every word, every touch I got from him seems like a blessing. I really wished him to be happy and healthy, this is my greatest wish now.
