Ah Mah Laa Kopi

Although grandma, whom we affectionately call Ah Mah, can no longer be with us physically but she continues to be us in all other aspects. I like how Bhante put it across, that we may be sad and there may be sorrow but more importantly when we think of her, we should remember all the goodness Ah Mah represents and celebrate her full life.

There is a little story about Ah Mah that i recall fondly with people who knows her. Allow me to also share this lovely memory with you. Whenever I say this little tale about Ah Mah, i start off telling everyone that grandma is a smart woman and she gets what she wants in the smoothest possible manner you can imagine. She's one slick lady, i grant you that :) 

Due to Ah Mah's condition, she is not allowed to have too much of any type of food and that includes coffee that most of us take for granted. But grandma do love her caffeine drink so. And each time we drink coffee, she will say in Teochew, "So fragrant! What drink are you having?" 

We will tell her its Kopi and she will smile at us, "Oh, that's very nice. Can you drink and leave a little to share with me?" Tendency is we share a 1/4 of a cup with her so she can have enjoy her small request  without causing any unncessary stress on her body.

And I realised she does that to each and everyone of us whenever we have a cup of coffee with us. I caught her asking one of our dhamma friend to share coffee with her after she already had some of mine. I exclaimed, "Ah Mah, you already had some! Hahaha. You are really good! At this rate you are asking, you probably be drinking the equivalent of a full cup of coffee, without anyone the wiser!

So there's Ah Mah with her 小把戲, don't you agree she is one smooth operator? :)