I was brought up by my paternal grandparents and have always admired them since young.

Despite their old age, they keep themselves occupied with activities.

Whenever I think of them, it makes me feel that in life, there are many things that need to be accomplished. They also teach me how to be optimistic and resilient in life when I do not succeed in something.

My grandmother is seventy this year. She has three children, my aunt, my father and my uncle. My uncle currently stays with her in a 4-room flat with two of his sons, Joshua and Joel, aged three and one respectively.

Since my uncle and his wife need to work in the day, my grandmother is responsible for taking care of the children.

Even though my uncle has engaged a maid, my grandmother does not depend on her to do things. In fact, she does ninety percent of the work while the maid just helps out in cleaning the house. Miraculously, both of them do not have much communication problems.

Every day, after feeding the children, my grandmother pats Joshua to sleep in a sarong while the maid does the same for Joel.

While the babies are asleep, she will prepare the dishes for dinner and then watch TV dramas in the living room. After their nap, the maid will help to prepare the milk for both babies and they will feed them.

In the evening, my grandmother whips up a sumptuous meal for my uncle, his wife, herself, my grandfather and the maid.

One of the dishes that I enjoy the most is her lotus root soup. It is really very tasty and her lotus roots are extra chewy. I always commend her dishes and think that she is really capable of opening her own eatery.

Since I seldom visit her nowadays, she will remember my favourites and cook them for me.

After dinner, she sometimes will go for her arranged mahjong sessions at her friend’s house which is just one storey below her house. In her free time, she will go shopping or do her nails and hair on her own.

I really admire her as she can manage her time very well and on 15 August, she will be going to Hokkaido with a distant relative of mine.

At the age of seventy-one, my grandfather’s responsibility is to work.

He recently showed me this award that he received from his company, On Cheong Jewellery. He has been working there for fifty-six years and the company wanted to recognize his loyalty. He sometimes tells me about his stories when he was young.

I was surprised when he told me he was an ex-smoker but he kicked the habit. I am really proud of him as he was able to stop smoking and to work for a company for so long despite his age.

I thank them for taking care of me and I also want them to know how much I love them.