Meet: My Grandmother

My grandmother rocks. I can't even begin to express how awesome she is. She was born in 1933 and has 7 siblings: 3 younger, 4 older. She married my grandfather at the age of 19 and soon after gave birth to my dad. My grandmother never went to school but taught herself how to read and write. She has had many jobs in her life but her one true love is art.

When I was about 6 years old, my grandmother took me to her senior disco dance classes (I know some of you have heard this story a million times). That's when I fell in love with dancing, especially dancing with my grandmother. Aside from disco dancing, my grandmother is a talented seamstress and fashion designer. She has designed and sewn many of my clothes when I was a teenager. Recently, she took up painting and drawing. All of the art in this picture are her's! I am proud of her that now at the age of 75, she is able to pursue her passion full time. Did I mention she is also taking piano lessons?



As kids, we're all taught to respect the elderly. But in China, it goes a level beyond respect. The elderly are very fortunate in China. Instead of living in nursing homes or elderly care communities, most live with (or close to) one of their grown children. My grandparents live with my aunt, her husband, and my cousin. Women are able to retire at 50, men at 55, and reap full retirement benefits thereafter. As a result, many are able to take on new hobbies, go travel, and enjoy life much earlier than we would be able to in the states.

Just as a side note about my grandmother, although she is part of the older generation, she is much more liberal and open minded than her generation. I remember when I first started dating, she was very accepting of the idea (unlike many other Chinese grandmothers I know). I used to mail my high school dance pictures to her and she would secretly keep them in a book tucked away in a locked drawer. Still 'til this day, nobody else knows about it.

Meet my grandmother, the original dancing queen: