American Ma

Today, when I went over the White Plains for company look around, I was driven by my dad to American Ma's house, and then she drove me to the company.
My dad works pretty far (Tarrytown), and he couldn't take the drives anymore, so he actually stays the night at her place two of three days during the work week.

Oh yeah, BZZZT.
Hate marketing.
My comp sci degree hasn't exactly made me suited for calling people and selling them website designs...

When my dad came over from Taiwan, he stayed over with a host family for...I don't know, a long time before marrying and settling in Brewster.
The host family was this ridiculously all-American model, we're talking ancestors immigrated in the 1630's from Ireland and France on both sides, many relatives, the works.
When we were young or so, our family always went to their sprawling house on holidays.
And BOY were they awesome times...traditional multiple course turkey dinners with lots of people during Thanksgiving and Christmas, or on Easter we'd go hunt for eggs, etc.
We called the matriarch and the patriarch American grandpa and American grandma respectively, along with Uncle Joe (their son), and Aunt Julie (their daughter), and uncle Lubashek? (haha i still can't pronounce his name properly, son in law)
There was also this little girl who was their real granddaughter, who was about a year older than Keshine (still a baby in my eyes.)
Anyway, I don't remember when exactly, but we basically stopped going after a certain year, and I always wondered why.

Turns out my mother hates them.
There was always this weird tension when we went there, now that I think back on it.
I finally asked the reason not too long ago, and my mother never forgave American Ma because one time she babysat me and evidentally when my mom returned I was soaking wet and developed an extremely high fever the next day.

Still, compared to my REAL grandparents, who were in Taiwan, especially on my dad's side, (I saw his mother ONCE before she died and his father was like a chainsmoking grump?), they were closer and a bigger part of my life when I was young.

Anyway, though, that's in the past...
American pa died seven years ago (We had stopped going to their house for a while by then), and American ma has struggled for 10 years with breast cancer.
Natasha (Julie and Lubashek's daughter) is all grown up, I doubt she remembers Kenny and Keshine and I, and according to grandma it turns out she wants to be a rock band lead singer/guitarist.

It really tears my heart out though to see her so lonely.
Everytime she sees me, Kenny, or Keshine she lights up and reminisces about the old times in that sprawling house (Her story about me liking fried calimari is her favorite).
It's a good thing my dad stays there during the weekdays now.

I should try to make an effort to visit her and the rest of them...waxing nostalgic...