Goodbye Grandpa

(Liew Siew Lam, 1926 - 2008)

~oOo~

Ben called me at around 5am plus yesterday with the inevitable news that Grandpa has passed on. My immediate reaction was relief, that he has left behind the bodily suffering which he has stoutly endured without much complaints. He was a strong man.

I reached the hospice at around 6am. He looked serene and wore the briefest of smiles. We did some chanting. The undertakers took over and sent him to the void deck where the wake would take place.

The six of us grandsons took the night vigil, divided into two shifts. The first will cover till 3am and the second till day break when the 'adults' will take over.

I was in the first shift. Even with the help of MacDonald's coffee and a extra value meal, we struggled to fight off the sleep monster. It was really tiring. To ward off sleep, we sometimes chatted, walked around, checked that the incense and candles were burning.

Grandpa's photo, taken probably when my mum was still a child, showed a handsome man, with steel in his eyes and optimisim in the future. History would show that life was not easy for him, bringing up many children, a few whom left him early, losing his wife just when life was getting better and the children were grown up.

Looking at his photo, I reflected on the recent months when we had more contact. Visiting him in the hospital, fetching home after being discharged, visiting him in the hospice, trying to entertain him and seeing him gradually weaken.

He has led a full life, of 82 years, travelled many countries (in his latter years) and enjoyed the love and support of his family in his final days.

And it was time to go.

Goodbye, Kong Kong.