You Go Girl

Back in the war day, Uncle Wally came home with a Japanese bride and Uncle Bill came home with a Russian bride. Grandma was none too happy about this. After playing Musical houses for a while Grandma settled down to live with Uncle Wally and Aunt Kiyoko. She made daily life a little hard and so Aunt Kiyoko spent her days in the basement sewing wedding gowns and bride maids dresses for people (her home business) while Grandam took care of the children. This went on for many years. I guess I did not realize how tough Grandma was on the kids until we went to a reunion and heard the kids' stories. I never heard Aunt Kiyoko say anything negative about Grandma. Even at my older sisters funeral we came upon my mother's and Grandmother's gravestones. Aunt Kiyoko is the one who found them. I put a carnation on my mother's and Aunt Kiyoko put one on Grandma's. So there is the back ground and the set up.

At the funeral of another one of my sisters we had a luncheon afterward. We were sitting with Aunt Kiyoko and she was telling the story of how Tommy had joined the Jewish faith and got married to a Jewess. Tommy was raised in a house that did not promote church going because his mother was a Shinto and his dad a Christian and they told the kids that they could decide for themselves when they were grown. I guess it never occured to Uncle Wally that it would be Judaism. So it was very hard for him to swallow.

He did not even want to go the Tommy's wedding. Aunt Kiyoko bought him a tuxedo but he kept saying he was not going. Well the day of the wedding came and Aunt Kiyoko takes the tux to Uncle Wally and tells him to get ready. (now this in itself was a big deal to us who were sitting at the table listening, because Aunt Kiyoko is so mild mannered and soft spoken) She tells Uncle Wally that he is going. He says he is not. She tells him he is because he OWES her for Grandma.

In her words, "You don't do for them, you do for me. You OWE me for Grandma, You do for me."
Uncle Wally got dressed and went to the wedding. We at the table were now howling with laughter at this point. Then Aunt Kiyoko finally said, living with Grandma was not easy. We had all known this because of the things the kids had already told us, so we all nodded a knowing nod. And then we all told her how proud of her we all were. She did not want to make her daughter-in-law feel the way she felt all those years.

They have a tight-knit bond and often all her children get together. Uncle Wally has been gone a few years now. But he had needed that gentle reminder He would have done the same thing his mother did to his new bride, if it weren't for Aunt Kiyoko and her wisdom, and her strength.