My siblings and I were lucky enough to have been afforded the luxury of having a close relationship with our grandparents. We also inherited the more than the obvious physical characteristics. The members of my families have an enormous impact on what I have become.

My paternal and maternal grandparents each had their own unique personalities. We had the ‘fun’ ones and the ‘strict’ ones.

But, I’m going to focus mainly on my paternal grandparents. Even though at the age of eighty and eighty-five, they are very healthy and strong. They wake up early in the morning just to take a walk in the park nearby their housing estate. Next, they would have breakfast at a coffee shop. Now and than, my grandmother would even walk all the way to the market even though public transport is available. She says all this walking can make her legs strong and by doing this, she can avoid suffering from diseases which old people usually have, like rheumatism, while my grandfather loves to play mahjong.

When they were young, life was difficult; they could barely cope with six children. They had a farm that consists of chicken, ducks and pigs. Hence, they made a living by selling eggs and selling off the pigs when they grew fat and meaty. They made extra income by delivering newspapers early in the morning. Even while my dad was schooling, he had to help my grandparents deliver those newspapers.

Strict discipline was being enforced by my grandparents to discipline my dad and his siblings. This could probably be one of the reasons why my dad treats me so strictly now.

However, even though my paternal grandparents treats my dad strictly, the way they treat their grandchildren are totally different. My grandparents dote on us a lot and often buy us good food for us to eat. They can provide very good listening ears, always giving me advice on how to deal with my problems.

I have learnt a lot of lessons from them and gained strength from their timeless words. Times spent with them will forever be etched in my mind.