We just got back from Jesse’s cousin’s wedding reception. The reception was pretty standard but Jes had an interesting experience with his grandmother. Grandma (usually referred to as “PoPo”) is a very sweet lady who lives in a studio at the Assisted Living Residence next to Cerritos College. She took care of Jesse when he was a baby so they’ve always had a special bond that required no verbal communication. Exchanges between them usually involve her asking or saying something and Jesse responding with a nod and smile (having no idea what she just said). He’s always had someone to translate in a time of need. Well, today was a little different. We were on our own.

Since we didn’t attend the wedding ceremony, we had the duty of picking her up and taking her to the reception. When we got there, she was pleasantly surprised to see us. As we walked in, she quickly tidied up a bit and started to make some tea for us. So I quietly asked Jes, “uh, does she know we’re taking her somewhere?” It turns out that no one told her ahead of time. OK…I guess we’ll just have to tell her. The problem was that she only speaks Cantonese and neither of us were able to communicate with her. So Jes called his dad and gave the phone to her. Once she was told that we were taking her out for dinner, it was all good. That is, until we suggested that she should bring a sweater. I tried to find one but all she had hanging were a bunch of heavy coats. After some fumbling with broken English and some gestures, she figured it out and spent the next 10 minutes trying to find a sweater in her closet. OK…got the sweater…now we gotta check her shoes. Jes’ mom specifically asked us to make sure she wore proper shoes. So I pulled out a pair of “church shoes” for her. She figured it out and put on one of the them and then decided that the ones she was wearing were fine. OK…those shoes weren’t bad. Time to go!

At the reception, we all sat together at Table 14. Grandma was chillin’…sorta dozing off every now and then. In her old age, I don’t think she remembers many people anymore. At one point, a lady (someone she used to know) came by and tapped her on the shoulder and said “hello” to her. As the lady walked away, Grandma looked at Jes and (in Cantonese) asked him, “do you know who that was?”. Jes shrugged with “I don’t know”. Considering the limited amount of communication they had, they managed to get a good laugh. In fact, Grandma laughed so hard that she had tears in her eyes. That was entertaining…for both of them.