the memory of him is everywhere

no. not a boyfriend type guy.  my grandpa.

my grandpa passed away this last thursday.  little things keep reminding me of him. my little cousin had a beta fish that she left at grandparents’ house.  it became Grandpa’s fish.  as much of a nuisance as it was, he faithfully cleaned Greg’s tank.  he watched korean dramas every day and went through several books of Sudoku from his spot on the couch.  As he got older in retirement he took up gardening and tended the roses on the back patio.  He never outgrew Disneyland or the Zoo.  He loved to go there- to take his grandkids there.  He didn’t ride much of the rides; I don’t know what it was about Disneyland but he loved to take us there.  At the zoo when me and my cousins were babies, he would carry us and show us the animals, telling us their names.  He played golf.  He was an engineer and had such an engineering, scientific mind.  His science magazines are still in the bathroom.

 i wasn’t super close to him.  our relationship was never really deep with heart-to-heart conversations, but we were pretty close for an asian american family.  mom says that his grandchildren are everything to him.  my grandparents give me so much.  that’s how they show affection- not by talking, by giving us things.  recently though grandpa had been saying “I love you” and “We love you” to me a lot.  That’s huge for an asian male of an older generation.  I really felt he did love me.  One of the last things he said to me was that he was going to get me an iPhone for Christmas.  And he told me to drive safely as I left for college after thanksgiving break.