“I have fulfilled my responsibility”
~Sean Chak (unknown-24 Dec 2011:8pm)|
I am proud to be your granddaughter!
Today, young couple may resist not to have baby so soon or be on family planning to avoid having too many babies. But not my grandparents, at the time family planning concept did not exist yet, who have eleven (11) children!
Seeing how challenging my sister is in raising only two children, I could hardly imagine how challenging my grandparents would have faced in raising all children. However, different era constitute different scenarios of how kids are raised. I could remember once time, when I was only 4 years old, I visited my grandparent’s home, some of young aunts and uncles at that time was in silent mode because my grandpa was standing in front of them with a thick stick to punish their misbehave (a common traditional way in disciplining kids in Cambodia). Unfortunately, I was accidentally hit one by that thick stick when I could not wait to cross his way to backyard. It reminded me always not to go into middle way of any violent act otherwise we would also be accidentally targeted. He taught me the first lesson!
With tireless effort, all his children are now independent. They all are married with son and daughter and some of his grandchildren even have their own children making himself become great grandpa. Believe it or not that I could not remember all name of my relatives namely young generation-cousins. A great moment of life is when all this extended family reunion together at his home. This is such a great extended family which I am proud of his legacy.
The legacy here refers to the great responsibility that he has been carried out throughout his lifetime in order to manage and guide through his children life path. One of best example constituting himself a great responsible person is when he is in critical stage of losing memory during his old age, which everyone said so but I do not believe this, he did try to travel along to Phnom Penh to discuss my engagement and send me off to Japan for continuing my Master degree. At the night I was on the plane, he was packing his clothes and about to leave by saying again and again that: “I have fulfilled my responsibility,” recalled my mum telling me this amazing story referring his aging effort to come celebrating me before I departed to Japan. I am so thankful for his warmest effort and again this is the second lesson in life of being responsible person.
Although you are now leaving me and everyone, your legacy will be remembered. I am proud to be your granddaughter!
Memorial Selection:
- Chheng Meng Preparation in 2007
3 Comments
Very moving text and pictures. Have I told you that my father has the same name as yours ? And I don’t bear his name ! That was the Cambodia in that time.
I am trying to trace be ma familly tree and the task is not easy because there is no records left.
Best regards
your text remind me on my grandmother’s kindness and love to all her children and grandchildren. She spend her life time to taking care of us with full of caring and love. she just left us but she still in our memory. We are proud to be her children and grandchildren.
[…] responsibility from my late grandfather who left a great lesson that I coined a quote for him??I have fulfilled my responsibility? ~Sean Chak (unknown-24 December […]