Someone I know

If my Grandma lived by now, she would be 107 years old. As an old time Chinese housewife, my Grandma had many unusual characteristics that had made her stand out from other ordinary women. She was intelligent, good spirited, elegant and graceful. She was a strong willed little lady.
Life had not been easy for grandma. She was a survivor. Only four and half feet tall, she had a very small body frame and she always looked pale and fragile. Her husband left her when she was in 30s. She raised her own three children by herself and sent them to college. Later in her life she nursed seven grand children and four great grand children while their parents were assigned out of the city. She supported the family by teaching in elementary schools and writing script on wax paper used for painting handouts in school. She had a big heart and was the only person that everyone in the family could rely on and cry on. She cooked big meals for feeding a big family every day from scratch. Shopping groceries at that time were made on feet with two hands carrying bags. It is not easy for a small woman walking back and forth with heavy groceries. She must have a very strong will and amazing energy; otherwise she could not have gone through those difficult times.
Despite her uneasy life, grandma was an elegant, graceful woman. She came from a dignified family; her father was a senator of the government. She was well educated. Her distinctive qualities were showed in the way she talked, the way she acted. She wouldn’t go out without changing, making up and combing her hair. Her hair was always smoothly combed and she would never let one piece of hair fall on her face. Her clothes were starched and ironed because she would not wear clothes with wrinkles. She always made the best look of herself and well kept the old world fashion. When she stood up her back was straight; when she sat down her legs were closed and the feet were together; when she smiled her teeth were not showing; when she talked her voice was gentle and low. She was a real lady.
Eager to learn like a sponge absorbing knowledge was one of the attributes of grandma.  From her tiny world, she learnt about outside world by reading books and newspapers, by watching TV, by listening to a radio. Her favorite channel was History and Animal world. She read various types of books, from history to geographic, from Chinese literature to biography, from nature to astronomy. She could hand write beautiful elegant Chinese scripts. She could recite 300 famous Chinese poems written in dynasty Tang and Cong from memory. She liked to talk about news, histories and literature to her friends, to her grand children and to her visitors. She would not pay much attention to the gossip among housewives in the neighborhood. She was so excited when she heard that United States of America established the relationship with Chinese Government. She could not stop talking about Nickson and ZhouEnlai and the reconnection between the two nations for days. She admired the great leaders in the world. After the age of 70, she had two eye operations. Glasses were not working for her; so she held a magnifying glass to read. She spent many hours each day sitting by the window with one hand held a newspaper, another hand held a magnifying glass and read. Her lips were moving while she was reading as if she tried to study every word on the paper. If the book was too heavy for her to hold she would put the book on a desk, stand and lean over on the desk with the magnifying glass in her hand because her short figure prevented her from sitting by the desk as a normal sized person world do. She never stopped learning until the last days in her life.
My grandma died at the age of 95. She died peacefully. She had no illness when she died, neither had she any regrets for her life. She was just tired, so she went to sleep forever. She didn’t have a splendid life with many successes, but she lived with fullness in her world. She was an unusual ordinary little lady.