plan for an entire month at a time, especially without a single written list! (I can only plan for a week at a time, and that is with the assistance of Alexa, Siri, and my iPhone.) Summers with 外婆 immersed me in Chinese culture and tradition and have allowed me to pass this on to my children.

No memories of 外婆 would be complete without mentioning mahjong! I was so excited when I was deemed old enough to play mahjong with the “grown-ups!” It coincided with the first summer that I was old enough to babysit the kids next door, so I was happy that I had a way to pay my debts when I lost. I felt so grown-up. Just about every night, 外公, 外婆, Mom, and I would play mahjong—外公 to my right, 外婆 to my left, and my mom in front of me. Sixteen cards, 12 cards (my favorite!), 13 cards, we played multiple variations. 外婆 was the queen of 哩咕哩咕! Every time her hand was “too quiet” (不吃不碰) I remember being scared that I was going to 放炮 . At the end of every night, I would pay my debts using my babysitting earnings. I remember thinking that I must have made a lot more money babysitting than I had thought, since 外公 and 外婆 would usually win, but I never seemed to run out of money! Then, one night, I caught 外婆 putting the money that I had lost back into my babysitting stash! Mystery solved. So many memories on the mahjong table, all the way through January of 2021—外婆, Mom, Kevin and I had a great time celebrating the new year. (Our entire family had social distanced for a whole week during Winter Break, so we thought it would be safe to visit if we wore masks.) Little did I know then that it would be the last time we would get to play mahjong with 外婆.

Bingo is the other game that comes to mind when I think of 外婆! I remember joining 外婆 and Mom at Saturday night bingo, and sometimes Tuesday night bingo as well. 外婆 was a speed demon, daubing all the numbers! But my favorite part of bingo nights was having 宵夜 afterwards. Sometimes having a hot bowl of noodles at home, sometimes enjoying the delicacies at one of the little Chinese restaurants that was open into the wee hours of the morning—all while laughing, chatting, and enjoying each other’s company. And, of course, quietly tiptoeing in when we got home so we wouldn’t wake up 外公 and hear him say “這麼晚了, 你們這麼現在才回來?"

When I decided to go to college in California, 外婆 took me shopping for furniture for her spare room to make it my study. She said it was important for me to have my own desk and a place to put all of my things so I would feel like her home was my home. My freshman year of college was a particularly memorable year for 外婆 and me. 外公 was in Taiwan for the year, so I came home to Mission Viejo every weekend. I would drive home on Fridays, take a long nap, and then we would go out for dinner—usually Denny’s or Carrow’s. On Saturdays, we would grocery shop at multiple stores (she always knew what was on sale at each store), and we would often go to CVS, where she would combine her coupons with their sales and purchase 3 or 4 items, all for under $1, total! She was extreme couponing before it was a fad! We didn’t always have a use for all of the items that she bought, but she would find a place to store it. Her ability to pack boxes with top notch Tetris skills are unparalleled! Saturday nights, we would go to my cousins’ house and have dinner, followed, of course, by mahjong. Saturday nights and Sundays, she would do all of my laundry, fold it, and pack it neatly in bags for me to take back to school. That summer, we updated the furnishings in the house—the white sofa, the print above the white sofa, the coffee table, the glass blue bunnies and fish under the coffee table, the dinner table…everywhere I look in the family room brings back memories of our times together.

It was about 15 years before I spent that much time with 外婆 again, but this time, I moved in with Kevin and 2 kids, Zachary and Isaac. We had sold our condo, but were still in escrow for our new home. Not only did 外婆 welcome us with open arms, she even let us baby proof her home! Mom and I told Kevin that there was no possible way 外婆 that would let us attach anything to the wooden banisters. We couldn’t believe our ears when she told Kevin that it would be fine—in fact, we could attach gates to both the upstairs AND downstairs banisters! We quickly learned that if Kevin was the one asking, she would oblige. She didn’t bat an eye when we turned her usually neat and orderly home into a crazy circus with my young boys’ clothes and toys strewn everywhere.

Time has flown since that time. We have only spent a few days together at a time…vacationing at Harrah’s for the weekend, going to Jeff’s wedding in Seattle, and playing A LOT of mahjong…all the way until last month. In April, I lived in Mission Viejo with her once again for an extended period of time. One night, she looked at me and said, “Jeannie 呀, 快點回去吧!” I asked her, “我今天晚上可以住在這裡嗎?” And her response to me was the same as it has always been: “當然可以呀!” But for the first time, instead of her helping me as she has done my entire life, I had the honor and privilege of helping her to prepare for her journey to the next phase of life, to join 外公 and all of our forefathers. 外婆,I wish you safe and happy travels to your next destination, and I know you will be watching over all of us until we reunite.