thoughtfulness on a cold dish

lying on the bed this afternoon, i felt some pain in my head. when finally i knew for sure that i can't tolerate it no longer, i realized the snack i had earlier in school which i considered my lunch didn't suffice for me. so i got up and went straight to the kitchen to check if some portion of the food they had here at home for lunch is still on the table. when i found cuts of fried fish, i picked up a plate, got some rice and then i settled down to ease myself.

not long after i was munching on the food i took, my grandma followed me into our kitchen. and it appeared i missed to check on something else when she showed me another viand that they had earlier for lunch. it was fish sinigang (a savory sour filipino dish). she asked me if i want some of it too, then i replied yes, it'll be good. i expected she would merely hand me the dish. but what she did instead was ask if i want the food to be heated for me. recognizing she was willing to, i gave a slight yes.

she put the casserole with the food over the stove, then heated it for some minutes. in just a blink of an eye, the food was served before me...warm, juicy and ready to eat. she just served food for me.

i'm so thankful for every time and effort she's giving us, her grandchildren, to show she loves us, even in such simple acts of thoughtfulness. it's a great gift to have a caring grandma that's always there for you, wanting to know what you need and willingly giving it to you.

while chewing the last spoonfuls of my serving, i sighted some slices of cucumber on a tiny plate just about me. i grabbed it, and found it has been drenching in vinegar for some hours already. after eating on the first two slices, it came to me that the vinegar was spicy. in spite of this, to me it tasted good, so i continued eating all the remaining ones. when i was done with all the spicy-and-sour cucumber, i got tears in my eyes, evidently since it was too spicy. and i turned to my grandma, then standing next to me and said, "ma, the cucumber and the vinegar made me cry." then she laughed.