Dear grandpa,

I have been very moved by the stories of your experience during the Japanese occupation in China. Your strong will to survive alone as an orphan at the age of about 10 years old made me feel that I am really very privileged.

Your parents passed away due to the Japanese occupation and you have been looked after by your grandma who also later passed away due to hunger. Your strong will to carry on to survive, searching for food, digging for sweet potatoes, left in the field after harvest and being chased away by the owner. At night, you slept in deserted places and gambling dens. There were also some good hearted people who gave you food when they saw such a pitiful boy. You always tell me to value what I have now and be thankful to my parents for giving me a comfortable life.

You said you were lucky that you have an uncle who had come over to this country much earlier and later financially helped you to come over here. From China, you came over here by ship. You struggled and worked very hard to earn a living in this country by working as an apprentice, repairing motor-vehicle. You said you are very fortunate to stay in your uncle’s house and life then was much easier. You have been very thrift to earn enough to help your uncle’s family. You told me that you must be a responsible person to repay back your uncle’s help.

Later when you have your own family, you also have tried your best to give every family member a secured life. You make sure all your children have proper education and ensure that they have a good life.
Knowing your life stories of struggling, survival, bravery and being very to thrift to earn a happy life till today, made me realise that I shouldn’t take the things I already have for granted, and must value what I am having now. And I knew that success is only received when there is hard work, diligence and resilience.
Grandpa, I am really grateful to have heard your real life stories. These real life stories made me strong willed and optimistic about life. And even if one day, you would left this world, I would remember your worthy advice and wisdom you gave me forever.

Grandpa, I am really too grateful to have such a great and wonderful grandparent. You always have a meaningful advice left behind before you go back to Malaysia. How I wish you would be living in Singapore, so I can receive more of your advice, and of course, what to spend my free time with you, even though I know it might be boring sometimes, but I know the time I spend with you is well worth it.

I really think that you deserve all the “rewards” you received. You lived in a big house, own a car, having a virtuous wife by your side, and having wonderful and caring children and grandchildren. All of them are well deserved to be in your hands now, grandpa. You really deserve it. But not only you have improved your life so much, you also hope that we, your grandchildren would also carry on what you did, so we would most likely also have a wonderful future.