Titled "Yeye"

Officially went back to work today. Wow.  I felt so much love and support from my coworkers. And is it just me but did winter come a little too quickly?  Maybe it is the dramatic change coming from Florida to here, but man I've been freezing!  Yesterday when I came off the plane I was still in my Soffe shorts. Yes, I changed into long jeans right away.

I can't believe that it will almost be two weeks since Yeye passed away.  A few days after Yeye passed away, I decided to go on a walk in remembrance of Yeye.  Basically, I needed exercise and was also missing Ye so I decided to walk just as long as he always did...one hour and fifteen minutes.  You would not believe how long that can feel, not to mention how amazing it is to know that Ye walked that much in his 90's.  Goodness! I'm wondering how he got hooked up with such a great body!

Just wanted to share something I wrote for his memorial service last week.  While this piece probably highlights many memories of Yeye, I have so many more unwritten memories.  Once I graduate, maybe I can write some more! Okay here you go, a piece titled "Yeye".

Yeye

I don’t know where to start for where do you start when someone has lived such a long life?  98 years. 

If you really knew Yeye you knew he was humorous, sharp, and had a vitality and strength about him, almost supernatural for someone his age.  Up until his stroke at 97, he was a walking machine and literally walked in our neighborhood for over an hour everyday, except on Sundays.  If he were here, he’d probably correct me and state exactly the number of minutes he walked on a particular day.  Typically it was “one hour and fifteen minutes” (stated in a British accent).

If you really knew Yeye, you also knew that he wasn’t always doing well and tended to have a pretty bad temper on certain days. It might have been the challenges of aging that made some days very rough, but whatever it was, I still loved him and knew he loved me with all his heart. 

I used to always say that Jo was my dad’s favorite, Priscilla was my mom’s favorite and that meant that I was Yeye and Mama’s favorite.  My grandpa treated me like his little princess and up until his last day I know I was his grandbaby girl. He unfairly gave me special treatment and our relationship was truly something special. 

When I was little, especially in elementary school, I used to run to my grandparent’s room and plop myself down next to Yeye as he would watch TV in his big comfy recliner chair.  He sat on the left and Mama would sit on a chair to my right and we would watch TV together.  Yeye introduced me to Price is Right, and of course, Bob Barker, and let me get away with watching much more television than I was supposed to.

Growing up, my favorite Chinese snack was “Chun pei” or dried orange peel and Yeye always had a stash for me.  Sometimes he’d offer me an oatmeal cookie or Wheat Thins, and if I was brave enough to ask, he would give me a mini Snickers.  On Saturday mornings, my sisters and I would watch my grandpa prepare his huge breakfast and our mouths would water as he cooked his Ramen noodles or “Goong Jigh Meen”.  Yeye was the only person I knew who used the whole pack of seasoning.  I was always told the MSG was bad for you, but Yeye continued to enjoy his fully seasoned Ramen and I laugh seeing how many extra years it gave him.

Over the past 27 years, Yeye has always been my watchdog or a protector to me. He called me often to see how I was doing, he prayed for me, and when I used to live at Jo's, he literally would be waiting at the door for me every time I came home.  On one occasion, Kevin and I were coming back from an out-of-town wedding and when we pulled into the driveway at around 3am in the morning, we saw a huge fog-like light coming from my grandpa’s window scanning back and forth across the lawn. My grandpa was waiting to make sure I came home safely.

I’ve heard people say that when girls don’t receive that deeper love from their fathers, they often look for love in all the wrong places. God has blessed me with a loving father, but I also believe that he has blessed and protected my heart ten fold by giving me a grandfather who showered extra love on me.  Having sported big plastic glasses, puffy short hair, old uncool clothes, and a fairly dorky attitude throughout my teenage years, I really believe that Yeye’s special treatment kept me from having major self-esteem issues.  And while I was a typical teenage girl, I never felt the need to chase boys or date any but one and I credit my grandpa for much of that.  Yeye enabled me to have a confidence and love for life.  He showed me that I was precious in God’s sight and I could not be more thankful. 

Much love to you Yeye.  May you see God face to face and may you relish in God’s love and goodness.