My grandma as Yente

Sometimes life just calls for hilarity. I’ve been visiting/volunteering at the nursing home where my grandma resides. She’s in a dementia unit, which is actually not all that sobering. I think I’ve just been there so much that I’m used to the atmosphere and people. With every visit, I manage to take away some funny or touching moment and I have one that seems fitting for this blog.

First let me share a little about my grandma. She is a 94 year old whippersnapper. A very feminine, finishing school-type lady, but a whippersnapper nonetheless and I completely adore her. She’s the only grandparent I’ve ever really known. Interestingly she was also one of few family members who was visibly not thrilled about my parents adopting from Korea. That all changed the moment she laid eyes on me and we’ve had (as far as I can remember) a wonderful, loving relationship ever since. When I visit her at the home, she’ll sometimes introduce (well..re-introduce) me to her friends as her adopted Korean granddaughter. I honestly don’t mind at all. It kind of makes me chuckle a little. Never in my life before had she introduced me with such specifics, but I suppose the residents get confused enough, so a brief explanation such as that might help.

Anyways. There are tons of workers in the unit including one man whom my grandma has been bound and determined to set me up with. Why? Because he’s Asian..duh. His name is Ming and we always say hello to each other to satisfy my grandma, but this to me is just ridiculously funny. It’s like my grandma is playing ‘match the Asians’. Her mind processes us as visually compatible and that seems good enough. I appreciate her matchmaking attempt, but Ming is a decade older than me and married with children, so I don’t really see that one going anywhere. Yesterday she tried to plug him again to me, despite being annoyed with him for trying to get her to sing a solo at church service. She said she wanted to ‘tie him to a pole and throw him in the mud’. Not surprising. I love my grandma and I know that this matchmaking business is only one of her ways to try and ensure my happiness. She was terribly happy with my grandpa and told me that she hopes I have that kind of relationship someday, too. So, her intentions are good. I wouldn’t so easily excuse others for trying to set me up based on race, but my grandma totally gets a free pass. At least Ming is the only Asian worker on her unit.