Grandma’s Passing

The colour of my blog serves as a good background colour to break this news. My beloved grandmother had passed away on 31 October 2015. She was 91.

I certainly saw this coming, as my family had visited her the last weekend before her passing. She was in pain, therefore she was not able to talk much. Her passing was actually a relief to her, as there would be no more suffering for her. As her eldest grandson, I have been doted upon by both of my grandparents since young. It is all the more so when I am born with cerebral palsy. Therefore I would certainly miss her.

Her funeral wake which lasted from Sunday to Wednesday, saw all our relatives and friends gathering to pay respects to my grandmother.

The happenings at the wake made me realized several things as I went through the course of the wake.

1.       You should not withhold the news of one’s passing from a fellow family member, regardless of any bad blood between family members.

2.       Compassion, understanding and respect for one another’s religion, physical challenges faced and work exigencies must be shown.  It does not mean that since you are doing this, you demand everyone to follow what is to be done.

3.       Filial piety should be shown when the person is alive, and not in death, as the dead person is not able to see and feel it.

4.       It is easy to spend money when you are not the one paying for it.

5.       The wearing of “xiao” can be within the wake period nowadays. It is up to each individual to decide how long they wish to carry on after the wake period.

I pray that my grandma is enjoying her time at the better place, but at the same time keeping watch over us.