My soft spot...

Tonight at the YVR airport, I had the opportunity to meet an old grandma out. She spoke barely any English, nor Chinese... and she didn't know where to go, or what was going on, and it was very hard to understand her. She was so confused, very lost, but thank God we were able to have minimal communication and we were able to show her the right place to take her connecting flight to Hong Kong. Her flight isn't until 2:05am, that's about a 5+ hour layover. As for me, my layover is around 4 hours and I am already exhausted.... but I am lucky because I have technology that can keep me "entertained" during those times. But can you imagine someone who doesn't understand the language, traveling all alone, and just sitting in the waiting area for such a long period of time? I know I wouldn't be able to handle it...

As I am sitting here reflecting on what I am seeing, it really breaks my heart to see this grandma travel all alone - I really hope someone in Hong Kong will be there to pick her up and be with her. It makes me wonder what her story is. All I know is that she is a kind lady, a really nice person, and when I handed her a bottled water and she said "thank you", you can definitely see the appreciation in her eyes. Well, buying her a bottle of water was the least I can do for her. I guess I am more emotional and soft-hearted towards older people since I lost my last grandparent 3 years ago... I still remember how hard it hit me when my grandma passed away.. I wish I did something more. I wish I spent more time with my grandma and loved her more.

Good news is, having a soft-spot for grandmas and grandpas just gives me more opportunities to love them more :)