by Thi-Anh

Great-Grandma Cuc passed away a few days ago on March 15, 2007. She had been battling the effects of a stroke that occurred about 6 months ago and just couldn’t pull through a bout of pneumonia. My grandma and Kannyn’s Great-Grandma was an awesome person. As long as I can remember, she had always supported me whether it be my first communion or my graduation from high school. What’s more special was that she supported Kannyn. She always made sure to think of her. At my baby shower and at Kannyn’s Baptism, she would come up to me and hand me an envelope with money and told me to make sure I got something for her. I could always tell that I always had a special place in her heart along with all my other 25 cousins. Although there were always a lot of us, I never felt as if we were blended. We were each seperate and special in her eyes. Even though I forget a lot of the things that happened in my early childhood, I always have the same flashback memory of my grandma and me. The memory is of her and me laying in her bed and talking. I can picture how the bed was and what wall it was on. I can also picture looking at the closet and grandma laying to the right of me. I had to of been very young, because I was still fluent in Vietnamese and the room that used to be hers is now currently my dad’s. Therefore, I don’t even remember the last time she used that room as her own.

I do wish that as I grew older that I would have been as close to her as I was as a young child. As I lost my Vietnamese throughout growing up, it was always a little bit harder to communicate with her. For as long as I can remember, everytime I would talk to her, she would always ask where my brother was and where my dad was. Haha. She always thought about everyone else. She’d always be concerned if I had to drive “all the way” back to Santa Barbara late at night (Actually both of my grandmas worry about this). She also always made sure we would eat and many times would send me home different types of fruit for either my mom or myself.

I’d have to admit that when I first got pregnant with Kannyn, one of the first thing that went through my mind was, “What was Grandma Cuc going to think?” I mean, she was a lady that very religious and I just didn’t know how I would tell her. Well, I was spared and took the backseat while my mom sat down and told her at my cousin Elicia and Mai-Anh’s graduation party. Her most concerning question was, “Is Kris Catholic?” When my mom told her “yes” she accepted it. I sure had the biggest sigh of relief.

Kannyn was her 6th great-grandchild and when she is older, she will definitely know how her great-grandma was. She was such an amazing, strong-willed, devoted, and active woman. She took care of 10 children and a bunch of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was the anchor that held our large family together and now although it will be hard without her, we’ve learned how to keep our families close and will continue with traditions knowing that she will be with my grandpa watching down on us.

I was lucky enough to spend some time with my grandma a week before her passing. Although it was heartbreaking to see her suffer, I was glad to have been able to tell her that I loved her. There was a moment in the ER when I was the only one with her. As I was holding her good left hand and watching her in pain, I thought to myself what else I could do. So I decided to do something I had not done in a really long time, and that was to pray. I knew my grandma loved praying, so I took her hand, bent down close to her ear and started praying. I started praying the Hail Mary aloud and then proceeded with the Our Father. About halfway through the Our Father, I looked up and low and behold, a priest was right in front of me. For a moment, I was a little confused. I mean, the first time in a long time that I decide to pray and a priest emerges. Little did I know, he was there to give grandma her last blessing and I was very lucky to be involved in it. He gave grandma her last anointing with oil and holy water. Co Nga, Co Mai, Elicia, Grandma, and I held hands with the priest and prayed. It was such a special moment that I will always remember. Grandma was very calm and I could tell that she took it all in. She was ready for her journey to Heaven.