A Proclamation.

This woman, in the middle of my sister, my cousins, and myself, is my maternal grandmother. She was raised like many other Chinese women. She was born in the early 20th century. In her youth she pursued the stage, and then eventually went on to be a children's theatre critic. She raised three children, she was widowed too early. She may seem like so many other asian grandmas that one might encounter. She's tiny, soft spoken, and thinks her grandchildren are a crop above all others.

What you might not guess, is that she has something in common with Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, ruling from 246 to 210 BC. In addition to being the first sovereign, he was also well known for commissioning of the terra cotta soldiers, simplifying written chinese, starting the build of the Great Wall, and being obsessed with immortality. Apparently he had decided that he indeed was to live forever, and demanded concoctions and potions to be made in order to give him everlasting life.

In turn, my grandmother has been blessed/cursed with such a mentality. While sharing a meal with the entire side of this family, she emphatically declared this to the table:

"I have already decided. I am going to persevere and will be alive to see all of my grandchildren be wed."

I drop my chopsticks. huh?!

"I just don't believe I will be able to rest in peace until I see them all married and married well."

Whiplash ensues as the entire table zeros in on me. The (single) single grandchild. Oh dear.