I'm part of a book club at work - a fellow bibliophile suggested it and we have now been doing this for almost a year. I have read some books I'd never otherwise have thought to pick up & am having a wonderful time so far :) We've had some real stinkers (gag me with a spoon Eat, Pray, Love), but this latest one certainly makes up for it!
I just got done reading the Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It was fantastic - comic book style, easy to read, heavy on the snark. LOVE. I have to say, and am slightly embarrassed by this, I never realized that Iranian is interchangeable with Persian. A lovely thing about having read this is that I now know more about Iran than I'd ever previously known. If you don't want to read it, but happen to see a copy in a library or bookstore, PLEASE READ PAGE 150. It is the most sweet and romantic and inspiring page! It made me wish I'd had better memories of my dad's mom and has inspired me to add jasmine to the list of things to grow when we move.
Grandmas... do you know yours? My mom's mom lives in South Korea, so I've only met her once beyond the time we lived there when I was born (we moved to the States just before I turned 2). Baby sister & I went to visit when I was 12 - that's almost 19 years ago, folks. Luckily, my memory of her is sweet, though financially motivated. Neither baby sister or I could speak any Korean, but mema at least taught us "I love you, Grandma." We would say this to her in the mornings, before our aunt would take us exploring and Grandma, not speaking any English, would reach into her bra and pull out some money for us to enjoy ourselves LOL My dad's mom is another story entirely. She passed away many years ago and suffered from uterine cancer in the end. My memories of her are at her home, which I remember being dark and super smoky. I remember her wearing moo-moos and constantly hacking up a lung (heavy smoker). Unfortunately, I don't remember any specific interactions with her and the "scenes" I recall made me think she was mean. BOTH of my parents, who rarely agree with one another, tell me that she was actually one of the sweetest women ever. How I wish I remembered that :( Because of this, while mema & I don't really get along, we have patched things up enough to allow for weekly visits so the Moose will know her. Luckily, my class is on Saturdays out in Eagle River, which is where Yobo's mom lives, so I can drop the both of them off there for a few hours most weekends :)
I have good memories of both my Grandmothers. We didn't call them Mema, though. Very formal - they were Grandmother and Grandfather, and Mother & Father too, come to think of it. Anyway, oddly enough both sets of grandparents passed away at age 86 - and not all at the same time, either. I guess I know my life-span!
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