Celebration of Life {& Love}

There was a very special reason to celebrate. Papa (grandfather on my husband’s side) turned 92 years old this past weekend.



Ninety-two years and counting – 92 years – what a milestone?!



What is it like to live decade after decade after decade and witness all the changes in the world in the past 92 years?



…from world war after world war to economic crisis after economic crisis…



…the up and down times…



…from the births of his own children / grandchildren to the deaths of his beloved ones…



The most surprising part – he is still driving by himself and overall in good health. Amazing, isn’t it. That is such a blessing. He lives a very enriched life and is surrounded by so much love and support from his children and grandchildren.





My own grandparents (both paternal and maternal) passed away even before I graduated from high school but I still have many beautiful memories about them. My paternal grandparents were of Chinese ancestors and we lived in the same house as I was growing up in Bangkok. My grandpa and I were not close and somehow I felt that he favored my brother because he was a boy (like most Chinese families where they have prefer boys over girls).

I remember my grandpa as a very tall, tanned and thin Chinese man who loved to visit Chinatown in the afternoon. He always came home with some weird goodies like pork stomach (which I couldn’t stand its odor up to these days). He liked to sit by the door, rolled his cigar, read his Chinese book and relaxed. With my grandma, I had a fairly strong attachment to her, we were very close because she spent a great amount of time watching me while my parents were at work. She was a great cook and very kind, but could be very strict and firm at the same time.




I would love for my daughter to spend more time with both sets of grandparents. At the moment, it is impossible for my girl to spend more time with my parents because we live in different country on different continents, but one day I hope she gets to know and learn more about them and the place I was born and grew up / the language and the culture. I strongly believe that kids can learn some important lessons and values from grandparents and develop a very special bond. There are certain things in life that we, parents, can’t give or teach them like the way grandparents can.

**Just a quick reminder, LoveMode Giveaway ends at midnight tomorrow (CST). Scroll down to enter**

I had SO much fun reading comments from my previous post, some of you ladies cracked me up big time and they were beyond true.(By the way, my real name is not "Halen", good guess Bessie! LOL) I think I may start a theme "Ouch! Punch me (or you) in the face" kind of post every week to bring up some controversial topics / dark sides of blogsphere. I am sick and tired of doing and reading outfit posts 5 days a week. What do ya think?