Saturday, October 5, 2013

Wonpil Lee/ Character Sketch/ Tue 1 p.m.

Taste of Memory


"This food reminds me of my grandmother." Sometimes I say so, when having a meal. When I was a child, my grandmother took care of me. That's because my mother was busy with her work as a salesperson. Whenever I eat foods which taste like my grandmother's, her appearance and voice pop up in my mind. Then I feel sad and sorry because I can no longer meet her.


When she died, I was 15. At her last moment, all her children and grandchildren went to meet her except me. I felt scary by the time. I was not ready to say goodbye. I do not want to lose her. Hiding my emotions, I said to my mother, "I don't want to meet her. I'm busy." My mother said, "Your grandmother is waiting for you. She loves you the most. She raised you. You are cold. I am really disappointed in you." However, finally I did not look her last. I did not attend even her funeral.

Instead, in my room I thought of her. I thought of her hard life. She got married young, and her husband died young. She raised four children by herself. Among three daughters and one son, my mother was the eldest daughter. As well as my grandmother took care of her eldest daughter's housework, she had to take care of her grown-up son, my uncle, who had a brain concussion because of an accident. Although my grandmother took care of him for nine years after that accident, he died finally. As soon as he died, my grandmother had a stroke. One year later she passed away.


I felt sad. I felt sorry. That's not only because of her hard life, but also because of her love for me. I was her eldest grandson. In other words I was the first grandchild she got. She always praised me and always gave me good things. I realized she gave me great affection, and I became ashamed. I did not say thank you to her, and I did not say I love you. I only received her love, and I did not express my love to her. I did not attend even her funeral, and I did not say goodbye to her.


Then I broke into tears. I was crying with thinking of her hard life and her great love. I was crying with saying goodbye and sorry. From the moment on, whenever I eat foods which taste like my grandmother's, I think of my grandmother and say in my heart, "Thank you. I'm sorry. I love you," which are simple but the hardest words in the world.


3 comments:

  1. 1.I think you love your grandmother very much and very miss her so you choose to describe her.
    2.I think you can write about what happened between you and your grandmother, like she take care of you or bring you to park, any way.
    From Jina Park

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1.she loved you very much.
    2. she raised you and she always praised and gave good things to you.
    3. What the person does: she raised you and she took care of your uncle so she is very devoted to her family.
    4. It's all clear
    5. you are sad that she is no longer around, and you regret you never got to say the word ' I love you'
    5. recounting a memorable day with her,perhaps?
    -Jeong Doyoung

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonpil Lee
    2nd Draft of:

    Taste of Memory

    Whenever I eat O-I-Ji-Mu-Chim, a Korean spicy food which is similar to pickled cucumber, I mumble to myself unconsciously. “This food reminds me of my grandmother.” Then I think of her for a while.

    When I was a child, my mother was busy with her work as a salesperson. That’s why instead of her my grandmother did the housework such as cleaning, washing, and cooking. Back then she was a great cleaner and washer, but she was not a great cook. Strangely enough, I miss the taste of her foods sometimes although I did not like her foods as a child. In particular I miss the taste of her O-I-Ji-Mu-Chim the most. Whenever I taste this food, I compare it to my grandmother’s. Then I feel sad because of her hard life, and I feel sorry because of my fault.

    When she died, I was 15. At her last moment, all her children and grandchildren went to meet her except me. I was too young to understand what death means. In fact, I felt scary, and I did not know how I dealt with the situation. Hiding my embarrassment, I said to my mother, “I do not want to meet her. I am busy.” My mother said, “Your grandmother is waiting for you. She raised you. She loves you the most. You are very cold. I am really disappointed in you.” Finally, I did not look her last, and I did not attend even her funeral.
    While other relatives attended her funeral, I sat on my bed and thought of her. I thought of her hard life. She got married young, and her husband died young. She raised four children by herself. Among three daughters and a son, my mother is the eldest. As well as my grandmother did the housework for her eldest daughter’s family, she had to take care of her grown-up son, my uncle, who suffered serious brain damage because of a car accident. Although my grandmother took care of him for nine years after that accident, he died finally. As soon as he died, my grandmother had a stroke. One year later she passed away.

    I felt sad. I felt sorry. That’s not only because of her hard life, but also because of her love for me. I was her eldest grandson. She had always praised me and always tried to give me good things. I realized she had given me great affection. I became ashamed because I had only received her love. I regretted that I had not expressed my love to her. I had not said thank you, and I had not said I love you. I had not said goodbye to her, and I had not attended even her funeral.

    Then I broke into tears. I was crying with thinking of her hard life and her love. I was crying with regretting committing so many faults. I was crying with saying goodbye and sorry.

    If I had attended her funeral and cried in front of my family, I could not miss her as much as I do now. Because I regret not doing so, I feel sadder and sorrier when I taste O-I-Ji-Mu-Chim. However, I feel not only sad and sorry but also grateful because now I understand what the taste means. It means love. It means her great will against the hard life. It means memories of my grandmother.

    Whenever I eat foods which taste like my grandmother’s, I think of my grandmother and say in my heart. “I still remember you.”

    ReplyDelete