since i was a little boy, every time i left my grandparents house, my grandpa and grandma would put a hawaiian sun juice in a plastic bag for me to take home. they would do it for my brothers and sister too. even to this day!!! i use to refuse taking it home because i didn’t want my grandparents to have to go out and buy more because it was heavy. but these days, i take it with a smile on my face. i know that my grandpa really wants to give it to me, and also wants to keep the family tradition alive. and that’s more important to me…
this is my last living grandparent. grandpa fukunaga is 91 years old. he’s really energetic and healthy. grandpa’s been there for us since we were born and still is. every time i go to his house, we talk about mt. fuji, japanese culture, WWII, and the hardships they had as second generation japanese/american citizens. he has almost a decade of experience and i want to know everything about it. next time i see grandpa, i’m going to ask him about my roots. i’m going to start by getting my great grandparents names and cities where they were born. i’m looking forward to that….
now days, leaving my grandpa’s house is hard for me. i remember looking at the wonderful garden of plants and flowers my grandma planted. then as i jumped into my car, i remember seeing my grandpa and grandma waving goodbye to me until my car is far down the street. now it’s only grandpa waving goodbye and once i turn the corner, i can’t hold back my tears… ahh.. this is too hard, i better stop….
