A Restless Day

George, my grandson-in-law, wrote this about me. I suppose he wrote this for his children who may read this in the future. 

Hey, everyone!  Do you remember that we live with Mama's 99-year-old grandma?!  You do!  Well, can you believe that same 99-year-old grandma scaled a 3 foot wall and made it to a ledge that even yours truly has fallen from?  You don't!  Well then my friends, let me tell you; THAT HAPPENED!  I won't even tell you that she did with about 20 pounds of books in her backpack.  No I won't.  I also won't tell you she made it about a 1/2 mile before deciding it was time to get into some stranger's car (Tom was there) to get back.  All of this is very serious, but I do find it slightly amusing that she would rather drag her backpack on the brink of exhaustion than let that thief Tom help her.  

I remember that day, the day I “scaled a 3-foot wall.” I had to. There was no way out otherwise. 

That was in the afternoon. I was up and about since four o’clock in the morning. I couldn’t sleep. My brain went on overdrive for some reason. I tried to open doors but could not. I went to the other side of the house. I don’t always remember who are on that side. I opened a door. Apparently it was a bedroom. I decided to explore the upper floor. I went up the stairs, wondering what I would find.

My daughter appeared all of a sudden. I took some medicine she gave me. She told me to go back to my room. I went back and decided to unplug everything on my end table. I thought I needed to take these items away from here. I took the lamp, the clock, my hearing aids, the power strip, and all the hanging cords with me. That was a lot to carry in my hands. I asked my daughter to turn on the lights for me. She didn’t. I asked her to open the doors for me. She didn’t. She told me it was night and to go back to sleep. She wanted to take the items I was carrying from me. I didn’t let her.

I was too awake to go to sleep. I wasn’t sure what I was carrying in my hands. I needed to figure out what they were. I spread them out on the floor and sat down to examine them. They all looked foreign to me. So I spent a considerable amount of time looking at them, turning them upside down, and trying to figure out what parts go where. 

Finally there was some activity in the small kitchen, I went out. My son-in-law gave me breakfast. Then he took me on a walk. It was too cold for me, so we turned around and walked back home. I wanted to tell my daughter that we needed to go back to Vietnam, but she said she was still in bed. I was a little tired. I lay down on the black lounge chaise. My son-in-law sat there with me and put a blanket over me. That was peaceful and nice. The sun was soft and beautiful. I dozed off. 

My body needed rest, but my brain was on a move. I was on survival mode. I needed to leave. I figured the communists were coming. It wouldn’t be a picnic living under their rule. My granddaughter and her family already left. My daughter stubbornly wanted to stay. She doesn’t know the communists the way I do. She never had to live with them. I did. I was going to stay back with her, but at the end I could not support her decision. 

Perhaps the communists were not coming, but my parents were living in terror under them. I needed to be there for my parents. I begged my daughter to take me home to Ninh Tảo where my parents lived, but she refused. She is selfish. She wanted me to stay with her. I told her I’d be back to see her but she didn’t listen.

Perhaps there were no communists, but I missed my parents. I missed my brother. I wanted to go home to live with them again. I invited my daughter to come with me. She has never seen the place I was born and grew up in. It would be fun to have her there. Besides, if she came with me, my parents wouldn’t scold me for going away from home for so long.

Something was wrong. Although my daughter didn’t say it, I had the notion that she changed her mind about going to my birth place with me. My great-grandson used to come and horse around with me. It must be that he didn’t like me anymore because I hadn’t seen him. The only reason I could think of for their changes of hearts was that some people had told them bad things about me. I tried to tell my daughter that all of that was not true. It was all a misunderstanding.

I had packed. It is hard to know what to pack, more clothes or more books? This time I decided on books. That made the backpack heavy. But that didn’t deter me. I am very determined. When there is a will, there is a way. I tried to leave through ordinary doors but they were all locked, except the door to the balcony. I guess I would have to leave my daughter behind, but at that moment, I didn’t even remember I had a daughter. All I knew was that my parents and brother would be so happy to see me again. It had been too long.

It is a little tricky to get out via the balcony. It sits high up from the ground. But I found a corner near the front door that is not too high up from the door step. I saw a green bag in the balcony. I didn’t know what was in it, but you never know what you may need on a long journey home. I managed to climb out of the balcony, taking my backpack full of books and what turned out to be my great-grandson’s swim bag with me. 

I walked down the street. I was sure that I would know the way home. I hoped it was not too far because the backpack was pretty heavy. I didn’t even have my walking shoes with me. I told myself that I was strong and I could handle this.

Imagine my surprise when I saw my granddaughter while I was walking down the street. She wanted me to get in the car she was driving. She seemed panic stricken. She was on the phone with someone. I was glad to be picked up. I wanted her to take me to the airport so I could fly home. But she took me back to the house where we all lived together. My daughter came out. I begged her to take me to the airport. She told me to get out of the car. I refused. She tried to take the green bag away. I wouldn’t let her, but my great-grandson said it was his. So I let it go, but I hung on to my own backpack. And I definitely was not getting out of the car.

I think if I stayed in the car long enough, my daughter and granddaughter would have to relent and take me where I wanted. After a while, my son-in-law came out and talked to me. I am very fond of him. He’s gentle and he likes to take me places. I agreed to take a walk with him. I chose to carry my backpack with me. I didn’t want to lose it. That was all I had now. If I was to go back to my parents, I’d need my backpack.

I walked past the stop sign where I usually turn around on my daily walk. But I kept going that day because I didn’t want to go back to the house. After a while, I was tired. I sat down to rest. I’d love to get into any car that would take me to the airport. I found a car that appeared to stop for me, so I tried to get in. My son-in-law held me back. He explained that it was the postal service car and it stopped to deliver mail. That was too bad.

My youngest son called. I talked to him on the phone. He told me he’d pick me up to take me to the airport. He asked me to let my son-in-law help me carry the backpack. Some stranger offered to take me somewhere, I got in his car. My son-in-law did, too. To my disappointment, the stranger dropped me back at the house. I didn’t want to go in. I wanted to wait for my son to pick me up. While we were waiting, I took my son-in-law’s watch off of his wrist. I thought it would be useful to have a watch. I tried to tie it to my backpack.

I don’t remember what happened after that and how I ended up inside the house. I think I had dinner with my daughter later. I did not have lunch that day, I was too worked up to eat then, so I was pretty hungry. My daughter offered me ice cream after dinner. I accepted. That is always one of my favorites of the sweet things. I was so exhausted after a long hard day that I let my daughter brush my teeth instead of brushing them myself as I always did. Going home to Ninh Tảo would have to wait for another day. I was so ready to get into my comfortable bed. I pulled the blankets over me, closed my eyes, and drifted to sleep. I hoped to have many sweet dreams to make up for a restless day.