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Edward Lee Remembers NaiNai, his Grandma Yee-Jung Lee

[中文翻譯]

    I guess I could take this time to say all the things that one expects from someone who’s up here but I’ll spare you that.   
    For as long as I remember, my parents both worked.  So, when the school day was over it was my grandmother’s place that I came back to and called home.
    I remember each day walking to her house from the bus stop and looking forward to whatever food she prepared for me that day.
    I think this sort of routine carried on until the 8^th grade.
    I would get something to eat, settle in and get prepared to do that day’s homework on the dining table. 
    As was my wont, I would be a troublemaker—causing her no small headache.  She was always patient and good-natured about it, even when I managed to get on her last nerve. 
    Now that I think about it, though, it never really occurred to me (and I can’t seem to remember) what she did while I was studying or causing a ruckus. 
    But, there were always—always—great aromas wafting through the kitchen. 
    So, I guess that’s what she was doing when I was around after school—cooking; both for me and my exhausted parents when they came to pick me up from work that day. 
   And, I guess…that’s what grandmothers do—they cook for you and take care of you in the way that only they can. 
    Because her home was small, it was always warm and toasty at her house in the wintertime.    
    You know, in the end it’s the little things that I remember. 
    That’s what it’s always about because, while this may all sound banal and everyday, it’s what I remember best because it was in the day-to-day and the ordinariness of it all that I experienced a grandmother’s—my grandmother’s—great and encompassing love. 
    No overtures, no grandiose gesture—because, although it might be suitable for others, she was much simpler than that in her life and what she expected from it.
    I think I speak for at least a few of you when I say I wished she smiled more or that she was happier. 
    But, I don’t know if that’s fair as I think everyone experiences and expresses joy in different ways.
    Because she lived a life of sacrifice and self-abnegation, it seemed that she was always putting her own needs aside for those of other people. 
    I think it’s all too easy for me to forget that, aside from being my grandmother, she was also someone’s mother, someone’s wife…someone’s friend.
    And, as someone’s mother she sacrificed what she had to raise three sons by herself—sons that, when you look at them and the men they’ve become, undoubtedly make her happy, joyful and proud when it matters the most. 
    It’s so true that we always wish for what we never had.  All the could-ofs, all the would-haves. 
    I wish I had spent more quality time with her when it counted but…it’s okay because she knows—grandmothers just have a way of knowing. 
    You know, she would love how her family and friends have gathered here like this. 
    I think that’s what happens when someone you love passes on…it brings everyone together.
    She’d be proud of this moment right here.

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我本來也可以在這種場合說些應景的話。

但我不打算讓大家聽這一套。

自我有記憶以來﹐我父母就是雙職工。

所以我放學後﹐總先回到奶奶公寓﹐那裡就成了我的家。

我記得每天下了校車步行回她公寓路上﹐總盼望著她為我準備的食物。

這樣的日子一直過到我八年級。

我到她家先吃點東西﹐安頓好了﹐就開始在餐桌上做作業。

我不改調皮的習性﹐沒有少給她添麻煩。

但她總是很有耐心﹐很和氣﹐不管我怎麼惹她。

回想起來﹐當時我沒有留意過(現在也想不起來) 我做功課或胡鬧時﹐她都在做些什麼。

但是廚房那邊永遠﹐永遠飄出食物的誘人的香味。

所以﹐我想那就是她在我放學後所做的事情﹐她在為我和(﹗)勞累一天﹐來接我回家的父母做飯。

那大概就是所有祖母所做的事情﹐她們用她們拿手的方式給你做飯﹐照顧你。

她的公寓很小﹐所以冬天屋裡總是很暖和。

如今我想起的都是些雞毛蒜皮的事。都是些繁瑣的小事。

但也是在我腦海中留下最深刻印象的事。因為就是通過這些日常小事﹐我體驗了一個祖母﹐我的祖母﹐的廣闊包容的愛。

沒有什麼驚天動地的舉動因為別人或許善於戲劇性的表達﹐她過著樸實的日子﹐她對人生也很淡薄。

我想一些親人也許同意﹐她應該多一點微笑﹐多一些快樂。

但也許我不該這么想﹐畢竟每個人以他自己的方式體驗和表達快樂。

她刻苦犧牲自我﹐總是把別人的需要擺在自己需要前面。

我也許不該忘記﹐她除了是我奶奶﹐她還是為人母親､妻子､朋友。

作為母親﹐她撫養三個兒子成人。她為此一定感到快樂自豪。這是她最在意的。

我們總想要自己所不曾有過的東西。有太多的遺憾。

我後悔沒有在她最需要時跟她好好相處﹐不過沒關係﹐她是了解的。祖母們總是心裡有數的。

今天親友們聚在這裡﹐她一定很高興。

我們所愛的人去世時﹒﹒﹒往往促成這種團聚。

她會為此感到驕傲。

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