This is last in a series about my trip to New York, this time focusing on my family there.
As noted in one of the previous posts, I have a lot of family living in New York, notably, all of my mom's side of the family. When we were younger, our family used to visit New York a lot. These days it doesn't happen as often, not because we don't want to, moreso that as we're getting older we're getting more busy with work and what not (our side and their side). And so more recently we all visit separately when it's not too busy; my brother's been down a few, and my mom goes there at least once a year.
Regrettably, there's been a large gap of 11 years since my last visit. Many important things have happened since then; people graduating from schools, people getting married, people having 1st or even 2nd children, and so forth. I even have a few new second cousins that I couldn't tell you the names of because I don't know them myself (many apologies). It is sad to look back knowing I've missed these sorts of things; things that would seem important. I mean, if I were getting married or having a child, I would want my relatives to be around and celebrate with me. But I guess sometimes you've got to look pass things. I mean, we're all living our own lives, doing our own things; we can't be in each other's lives all the time. It still sucks, but I understand that it's a fact of life.
Seeing my grandma was the most painful reminder. I went with my aunt to visit her one morning at the nursing home, but she did not recognize who I was. It was a bit heartbreaking, but I understand that it's been many years and that at her age, she is going a bit senile. She seemed to be doing okay, at least better than I assumed she was going to be. She told me she was not happy though. She didn't have many friends (or friends at all) at this place. I guess what sucked was that she seemed like a pale comparison of this powerful/authoritative woman I remember from yesteryear. But there goes my brain again trying to bring back relics of remembrance.
I guess this post sounds a bit sadder than I intended, however that was not the purpose. If you had to ask me what the best part of my trip to New York was, hands down, it was seeing my family. In fact, when I arrived home in Toronto, I told my mom how grateful I was for the way my relatives took care of me those few days. They provided me a place to stay, they took me to many meals at restaurants, and they even offered me some money so that I would stay for a bit longer. Of course I couldn't accept, I was so tempted to, but I had to hold back... I just couldn't do it. It's interesting, this concept of love. I can be away from family for over a decade, and they would treat me as a prince because of our blood ties.
This then made me think of God. How complicated and interesting is He, that He would create something as intricate and special as love... something so strong and deep that it transcends everything, even religion itself. That's the way I see it. Regardless of spiritual background, cultural background, or anything else, love beats all. How great is that.
I left New York feeling so grateful and so blessed. Hopefully someway, somehow, they felt the same. I promised them that I would return next year, with my parents, since I stayed such a short time this year.
I know this post didn't add too much to the geek lexicon, but I had to get this out for sure. Later geeks.
As noted in one of the previous posts, I have a lot of family living in New York, notably, all of my mom's side of the family. When we were younger, our family used to visit New York a lot. These days it doesn't happen as often, not because we don't want to, moreso that as we're getting older we're getting more busy with work and what not (our side and their side). And so more recently we all visit separately when it's not too busy; my brother's been down a few, and my mom goes there at least once a year.Regrettably, there's been a large gap of 11 years since my last visit. Many important things have happened since then; people graduating from schools, people getting married, people having 1st or even 2nd children, and so forth. I even have a few new second cousins that I couldn't tell you the names of because I don't know them myself (many apologies). It is sad to look back knowing I've missed these sorts of things; things that would seem important. I mean, if I were getting married or having a child, I would want my relatives to be around and celebrate with me. But I guess sometimes you've got to look pass things. I mean, we're all living our own lives, doing our own things; we can't be in each other's lives all the time. It still sucks, but I understand that it's a fact of life.
Seeing my grandma was the most painful reminder. I went with my aunt to visit her one morning at the nursing home, but she did not recognize who I was. It was a bit heartbreaking, but I understand that it's been many years and that at her age, she is going a bit senile. She seemed to be doing okay, at least better than I assumed she was going to be. She told me she was not happy though. She didn't have many friends (or friends at all) at this place. I guess what sucked was that she seemed like a pale comparison of this powerful/authoritative woman I remember from yesteryear. But there goes my brain again trying to bring back relics of remembrance.
I guess this post sounds a bit sadder than I intended, however that was not the purpose. If you had to ask me what the best part of my trip to New York was, hands down, it was seeing my family. In fact, when I arrived home in Toronto, I told my mom how grateful I was for the way my relatives took care of me those few days. They provided me a place to stay, they took me to many meals at restaurants, and they even offered me some money so that I would stay for a bit longer. Of course I couldn't accept, I was so tempted to, but I had to hold back... I just couldn't do it. It's interesting, this concept of love. I can be away from family for over a decade, and they would treat me as a prince because of our blood ties.
This then made me think of God. How complicated and interesting is He, that He would create something as intricate and special as love... something so strong and deep that it transcends everything, even religion itself. That's the way I see it. Regardless of spiritual background, cultural background, or anything else, love beats all. How great is that.
I left New York feeling so grateful and so blessed. Hopefully someway, somehow, they felt the same. I promised them that I would return next year, with my parents, since I stayed such a short time this year.
I know this post didn't add too much to the geek lexicon, but I had to get this out for sure. Later geeks.
Comments
-yvette