I spent the whole afternoon with my grandmother today. I was her personal chauffeur and official “errand-girl” Despite the tiring day of carrying her stuff, and driving her to her bidding, I had a lot of fun (and pizza.)
Today I got to talk to my grandmother about her life when she wasn’t you know- a grandmother. I mean, I never saw her as anything else, but she’s in her late sixties already, she recently just celebrated her birthday, and before all of us, she had a life. She had her own dreams, failures and experiences, basically, she’s human, just like myself.
My grandmother graduated high school from a small town in Negros, grew up the youngest of ten siblings, and as I just learned today; got maried at the age of twenty-one.
DAMN. I’m just a year younger now than she was when she married my grandfather in a courthouse in Manila. I couldn’t even take relationships seriously at this age, and yet there she was, getting married, and starting her own family.
I loved getting to know this side of my grandmother. I only always see her as the funny old lady who loved to cook and sew. My friends that know her describe her as “groovy” or “hip” She’s usually up for anything, and she’s probably one of the most positive people I know. My grandmother is very simple. She does laundry, cooks dinner, and keeps the house clean. Once a week she attends her bible study class along with all her retired friends. She’s like everyone’s typical grandma.
But hidden in that simplicity, is her secret. When she was younger, probably just a few years older than me, she was a strong independent woman with class, and style. She worked at one of the city’s top companies to support her children. She suffered three miscarriages and had to go through a very long time without her husband because my grandfather used to work away most of the time as a seaman. In her twenties, she had an envious waistline of 23-inches and the most amazing collection of self-made wardrobe. I have her to thank for all the vintage stuff I own. Me and my older sister have a field day whenever our grandmother decides to open her closet to us.
My grandmother is very humble and down-to-earth. When you look at her and the way she lives, you wouldn’t have known that she’s already traveled to a lot of places around the world, and has seen a lot it has to offer. I love my grandmother, and she’s one of my inspirations why I want to travel the world. I think she’s a wonderful role model, and I’d like to pattern my lifestyle to hers. She’s an adorable woman whom every one of my aunts, uncles, and cousins love. She has the kind of personality that just makes her so lovable, and I’d like to be the same.
Honestly, I think my grandmother is secretly a queen.
In my eyes she had always been old, always been mine, always been Granny Dan. But in another time, another place, there had been dancing, people, laughter, love. . . . She had had another life before she came to us, long before she came to me. . . – Granny Dan, Danielle Steel
xx Gizel
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