We’ll Miss Grandma & Grandpa This CNY, But We’ll Find Our ‘Door To Happiness’
Families grow and change but the love remains the same.
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As we grow older, we’ll see our family grow bigger or sometimes smaller.
Though losing loved ones is an inevitable part of life, it doesn’t mean that the doors to their love and memories are closed to us forever.
This fact holds true as I watched the heartwarming lunar new year video made by Gamuda Land which features the tale of a young girl named Leah and her journey in search of happiness this Chinese New Year.
Because I too have experienced losing people who are very dear to me and my family
In truth, CNY is a modest thing in my family, but the way my grandparents would prepare for the celebration, and the entire family’s arrival back to our hometown, will definitely make many think otherwise!
Every year, my grandfather never fails to stock up on boxes of our favourite drinks and makes sure everything at home, such as the air conditioning units, are serviced way before we arrive to ensure that his children and grandchildren are always comfortable.
Meanwhile, my beloved grandmother would be busy decking out the entire house with the beautiful, huat decorations from top to bottom.
She’ll climb up the ladder to put up the red lanterns along the balcony and hang all the paper decorations on the walls of the house.
Her potted plants in the garden aren’t spared either. The plants will be decorated with her handmade ang pau fishes that the whole family adores.
When CNY day comes, grandma’s eagle eyes would always be scanning our outfits, up and down, as we make our way downstairs in preparation to head to the temple for prayers.
If we’re dressed in dark colours, her raised eyebrows would be her subtle signal for us to go up and change or be forced to stay locked up indoors.
Like many grandparents, my grandpa and grandma always make sure we’re fed until we’re bloated. They never fail to force ask us to eat every hour of the day throughout our stay – that I’m pretty sure all of us would go back home gaining more than a few pounds!
While it’s adorable how much they loved us, it can be annoying at times.
But despite all the fuss we’d make, it’s no secret that I and other members of the family loved the attention we’d get from them both.
Sadly, the coming CNY will be different for our family
Grandpa passed away several years ago, and we lost grandma just a few days before the 2021 CNY celebrations came to pass.
It was unfortunate that some of us in the family did not get a chance to say our last goodbyes to grandma during her final hours last year because of the pandemic travel restrictions.
This was why Gamuda Land’s CNY video pulled hard on my heartstrings.
I believe I speak for my whole family when I say that we wished we could celebrate one more Chinese New Year with grandma before she had to go.
But as the saying goes, “to die is to stop living, but to stop living is something entirely different than dying.”
Keeping the Door To Happiness open
So in memory of our late grandma and grandpa, we honour them by keeping our door to happiness open by maintaining the Chinese New Year traditions they’ve set for us.
Behind each door, we continue to cherish them by decorating the house, dressing up in bright and brilliant colours, having our family reunion dinner together, taking fun and funny photos and lots more.
Though we might not be able to decorate our home as well as grandma did, or keep the house as tidy and comfortable as grandpa’s, we’ll do our best!
Like keys on a chain, the family will carry on these traditions, keeping their memories alive, and hopefully, open more doors to happiness when it comes time for me and the others to make our family larger with our own kids and grandkids someday.
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