Granny’s Life

My Granny’s life

More and more people are facing problems which are holding them back from achieving their goals and dreams. I think the number will increase if we do not get educated in those areas of our lives that are not working the way we would like them to. This particular essay portrays my granny Panjab’s life and her struggle for survival, which eventually brought her many great rewards in life.

My grandma Panjab was born in a small town called Kurshab on March 8th, 1932. She is my mother’s mom. At the age of twenty two she was married to my grandpa, Masilin. The marriage was prearranged so they did not know each other well enough and had to gradually learn how to love one another and find a common ground. She was a house keeper and had to take care of her seven children; three sons and four daughters. The house where she lived in had three little rooms and the kitchen was outside. They did not have any hot water, heat, television or radio. At times, they would not have electricity either. To keep warm at night, the children had to sleep close to each other just like the penguins.

She told me that back in those days nothing came easy and that they had to earn their breakfast every day by waking up at five in the morning and going to the field to water and gather fruits and vegetables they grew. Those included: tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages, cucumbers, onions, strawberries, raspberries, and watermelons. They also had a cattle and dozens of chicken that they had to take care of everyday.

Although, she had no previous education, my grandpa and she tried to give their children a good education so that they would not struggle as much in life as they did. The oldest of her sons, Giri, tried to help his parents by finding some work to earn money. He was at the age of fourteen. Other children were doing the same. Each of them brought some bread after school and put it to the table to share with the rest. They were friendly and took care of each other no matter how difficult life would be at times.

From year to year all of her children have got married and started their own families. At this moment she has twenty seven grandchildren. All of her four daughters live in Bishkek and all of her sons live in Uzbekistan. She gave her children an opportunity to find their places in live. Today, the children are doing the same for their kids and even more.