Drafting a Love Letter to my Grandmother

For the grandparents who miss their grandchildren, the grandchildren who miss their grandparents, but especially for my grandmother who immigrated to the united states after leaving her hometown in Taiwan many years ago.

she tucked several belongings from home

and escaped to america, dreaming for the american

dream. she worked hours at night to care for

her three sons, who were her every priority. and now,

she’s over 70 and tired, but still living.

i wonder if you’re sitting on the same white

couch and cooking with the same old fashioned plates.

do you still cook grandpa your famous

shrimp dish? we miss it very much.

but grandma, are you any happier now?

but grandma, how are you now?

how have you been, grandma?

i know you’ve been waiting for my texts,

but mom’s been paranoid about me contacting you…

you know how the relationship is between my parents.

but school’s been really busy. can you believe i’m graduating

next year? time really flies.

luckily, grandpa’s updated me on your wellbeing.

i guess you’ve been watching many taiwanese dramas

ever since you’ve retired.

try to take a couple of walks outside to get the blood flowing,

won’t you, grandma?

i don’t say it enough, but i love miss you.

you’re reading the news too, right? it’s... scary.

i know you know, but i just want to be sure.

with everything going on, we

never know what might happen. stay safe.

i watched this movie recently, grandma. have

you heard of it? it’s called “minari”, which is this korean

vegetable that can grow almost anywhere. a korean immigrant family moved to arkansas and dealt with struggles of maintaining family love, health, and things

i probably won’t really understand till i’m older. i know dad cried a lot. so did i. he knows the challenge of

growing up with immigrant parents. i want you to watch it, and let me know what you think afterward.

this may be random, but thank you, grandma. you aren’t perfect, but

none of us are perfect, and i’m glad you taught me so.

talk again. i hope we can see each other soon.

xx.

- Hannah Chen

Cover Photo Source: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/multicultural-robert-daniels.html