Grandma (poh-poh)

Grandma, it's been many years since you passed away. Sixteen years, I think. I have so many memories of you and always wish we could have had more time together. God called you home in exactly the way you would have wanted, quickly and without pain, but in my opinion, it was still far too early. But I know it's okay, because now you get to spend eternity with Him.

I remember how you would come and stay with us from Seattle, taking the Greyhound by yourself even though you couldn't speak any English. You used to ask why we would buy things like French fries, since you could just make them at home instead. You made the best beef jerky - no store-bought kind can ever match up. You loved to watch Family Ties (Alex was your favourite) and I never understood how you could watch an English show or what you really thought was going on. Actually, once you surprised us by responding "I don't know" when we asked you something. I guess you must have picked up some English over the years. You taught me how to peel the roots off of bean sprouts and how to wash rice properly. You told me to marry a Chinese guy (so that his family would pay for the wedding) and although I always laughed, guess what, I ended up marrying one after all.

What I loved most about you though, Grandma, was your love and faithfulness for God. You never had the opportunity to get an education but somehow you still studied the Bible and memorized verses. You always encouraged us to do what was right and to work hard.

I think I've learned even more about you since you passed on. Now that I'm older, I'm able to grasp our family's history even better. I know that you were a hard worker all of your life, from being a street vendor to being a mother of many children. You didn't have much schooling, but your math was better than most educated people's math. I know that you made many sacrifices for your family. The family was poor, but you did not let that stop your children from being educated and working hard so that future generations would live a better life.

What would you think of how my life turned out if you were here today? Would you be proud of me? One day I'll get to ask you in person.

Mrs. Poburko

You were my kindergarten teacher and everyone was scared of you. I don't know why they were scared of you, but I know why I was scared.... one day, my friend had a loose tooth and you said you would help her pull it. To my horror, you tied one end of a piece of dental floss to the tooth, and the other end to the closet doorknob. Then you slammed the closet door. The tooth came out. I think I screamed.

Tara W.

You were a roommate for a short time and it is because of you that I think having a roommate sucks. You took our other roommate's car and put a dent in it, then you "fixed" it, hoping she wouldn't notice. You left your bras lying around the kitchen and living room, you didn't like to clean, and you overcharged us on rent. Then, you tried to evict us even though you weren't even allowed to be subletting to us. I unplugged your telephone every single day just to irritate you. Childish, I know. Oh well.

Nancy

I met you in Montreal the summer after high school. We were both there to learn French, although somehow I got put into some sort of advanced class where half the students were Francophones, which I found kind of unfair. You were in a more normal class, so maybe you actually learned something. I lent you my jacket one night when you were cold and you somehow got blood on it... I don't really want to know. We spent our evenings hanging out at the 24-hour Second Cup and you were a great friend. Apparently you also hated your name, since I later learned that you changed it to something totally different - like Jennifer or some name like that.

M.

It's weird that my most vivid memory of you is that once, I was in the same restaurant as you, except you sat behind me and you couldn't see me.... I was with some friends you didn't know, so probably you didn't even guess I was there. I heard you talking with your boyfriend, not because I was eavesdropping, but because I heard my name. You were actually discussing my relationship with the now-hubby and how our relationship was probably going to fail. I was too chicken and non-confrontational at the time to turn around and say "Hello, is that me you're talking about, please stop", so I let it go.

You didn't ask for forgiveness (nor would you really have to, it was so minor) but guess what, I'm giving it to you anyway. Despite whatever some troll thinks of it.

C.

The year I got engaged, you kept asking me about the wedding and when you would get your invite. I wasn't sure if we should invite you because the four of us, we aren't great friends... but that year, you and I served together in ministry, so I thought it'd be rude not to invite you.

After I gave the invite to you, you didn't reply... so when the reply date passed, I had to ask if you and your husband were coming or not. You said that you would be out of town. No big deal, right? I found out today that after you received your invitation, you announced loudly to a group of our mutual friends that you would rather spend money on yourselves than attend our wedding or give us a gift, so you booked a trip to Portland as soon as you knew that you were invited. Maybe you were mad that we didn't give you a very big gift for your wedding (I was a student - it was all I could afford.) Who knows. I'm not offended that you didn't come, but what was the point of telling everyone that you'd rather go to Portland?

Well, you haven't asked me to, but I've decided to forgive you. You probably don't care, but if I don't let this go it'll just bother me forever.

Doris

You were shocked when you found out that I could barely speak Chinese, and you resolved to speak only Chinese to me for the rest of the year. As it turned out, I actually learned some Chinese because you wouldn't speak any English. Too bad it only lasted through high school!

Kathy

I can't actually remember whether your name was Kathy or not, so I'll just call you that. You and I worked together and it was my first real job, so naturally I was intimidated. You were rude to me when I first started and I never enjoyed working with you after that. Once, I suspected you of stealing $20.00 from my till since I was *never* short by more than a few pennies. I later heard you were fired for stealing money on several occasions. Nice work.

Jennifer Y.

I remember admiring your thick, waist-length hair and wishing my hair was nice and straight like yours. You were always a sweet and friendly girl and you laughed at my jokes. In grade 7, you liked this boy and I told you to go for it ... but I neglected to tell you that I liked him too. At some ridiculous elementary school dance, I danced with him even though I knew you wouldn't be happy. Wow, I was a jerk.

Mrs. Challoner

You were my grade 2 teacher in a 2/3 split class. When we all wrote books for a class project, mine was based on The Ugly Duckling and was about a girl who felt ugly, but was actually beautiful. You asked me to read it to the class and I did. Maybe you thought the book was about me. Maybe it was. In any event, I was the only one who got to read my book out loud.

New feature on my blog!

Hello everyone!

In an effort to blog more, I'm going to attempt to participate in something that I think is called x365 or Blog 365 or something like that. The idea is to write one short post a day about one specific person in your life, past or present, and... really that's it. Just a few thoughts about that person, and then move on. I haven't signed up for anything official since the chances of me blogging every day are slim, but hey, it's worth a shot.

Hope you'll find it entertaining and maybe you'll even find yourself named at some point!