Halmoni = “grandma” in Korean.

I debated whether or not I was going to post this for a few reasons – it’s too personal, it’s not wedding related, it’s sad… I thought about it and decided that I would post it because we’re all human and we all go through the same things in life. We all experience joy and sadness. You may have seen my photos before and thought, “Wow, those are gorgeous!” This set of photos are just as gorgeous and to me, they are priceless.

Back in February, Jeannie and I had decided take Jonah down to Washington, DC to see the cherry blossoms and do some sightseeing during the first week of April. A few weeks before our trip, we found out through my mom that my grandmother had suffered a “mild” stroke. While we were in DC, my grandmother was back in the hospital, after falling down (trying to walk), with a broken vertebra.

There was no question – we were going to go visit her in the hospital. I hadn’t seen her in a few years, but she looked pretty much the same. I tried to get Jonah to sit with her, but he was doing what a typical 2 year old might do. He had never met his great-grandmother before, so he was probably a bit shy. I’m sure there was an element of fear, as well.

We went back the next day and brought her some Korean food to eat. She had complained to my mom that she hated the (American) hospital food and was starving. She was there for about a week and was later discharged.

I took this photo of my grandma talking to my mom on the phone.

Later, Jeannie took this photo of me and Jonah during my attempt to get him to sit with my grandma.

Last week, my grandma suffered a setback and was re-admitted to the hospital. We drove down to Virginia last Friday and just got back.

This photo was taken on Saturday. My mom looks at me with a look of helplessness, while her older brother looks at his mother in the hospital bed. She passed away about 14 hours later at around 3am on Mother’s Day.

I jokingly told my mom that “halmoni’s nose will live on forever.” I got my nose from my grandma, which has been passed on to my son, Jonah. This next photo shows Jonah with my cousin’s son, L. They are definitely related – just look at their noses.