En grandissant, j’ai passé beaucoup de temps chez mes grands-parents dans le Quartier chinois. Lorsque j’étais jeune, cela signifiait monter les escaliers jusqu’au 1075 Clark, un appartement que mon Gong Gong avait loué en attendant que sa femme et ses enfants le rejoignent, ce qui arriva finalement en 1965. Son propre père avait vécu dans des maisons de chambres et d’autres logements conçus pour les hommes célibataires. Cependant, mon Gong Gong a eu la chance de retrouver sa famille et de créer un foyer. En repensant à ces visites, je me rappelle à quel point il devait être spécial pour lui de passer du temps avec un petit-enfant, ayant manqué l’enfance de ses propres enfants. En fait, pendant des décennies, les enfants étaient une rareté dans les quartiers chinois d’Amérique du Nord. En regardant les photos de mon Gong Gong et moi, je peux voir le pur bonheur dans ses yeux, une occasion retrouvée de s’occuper d’un enfant.
小時候，我經常待在唐人街的祖父母家。那時候常常要爬樓梯到 Clark 街 1075 號，那是公公租的地方，他默默期待著妻子和孩子們和他重聚，他們最終在 1965 年和他團圓。他的父親曾住在為單身漢設計的客房和其他類型房子中。然而，我的公公有機會與家人團聚，建立一個家。回想起來，我體會到因為他錯過了自己孩子的童年，能夠與孫兒共度時光對他來說一定很特別。事實上，幾十年來，在北美各地的唐人街，孩子們都很少見。回顧我和公公的照片，我可以看到他眼中閃爍的喜悅，慶幸能夠感受照顧孩子的幸福。
Growing up, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ place in Chinatown. In my early years, that meant climbing the stairs up to 1075 Clark, a place my Gong Gong had rented in anticipation of his wife and kids joining him, which they eventually did in 1965. His own father had lived in rooming houses and other accommodations designed for single men. However, my Gong Gong had a chance to reunite with his family and make a home. Reflecting back on these visits reminds me how special it must have been for him to spend time with a grandchild, having missed out on his own kids’ childhoods. In fact, for decades, children were a rarity in Chinatowns across North America. Looking back on photos of my Gong Gong and me, I can see the pure joy in his eyes, a regained opportunity to care for a child.
小時候，我經常待在唐人街的祖父母家。那時候常常要爬樓梯到 Clark 街 1075 號，那是公公租的地方，他默默期待著妻子和孩子們和他重聚，他們最終在 1965 年和他團圓。他的父親曾住在為單身漢設計的客房和其他類型房子中。然而，我的公公有機會與家人團聚，建立一個家。回想起來，我體會到因為他錯過了自己孩子的童年，能夠與孫兒共度時光對他來說一定很特別。事實上，幾十年來，在北美各地的唐人街，孩子們都很少見。回顧我和公公的照片，我可以看到他眼中閃爍的喜悅，慶幸能夠感受照顧孩子的幸福。
Growing up, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ place in Chinatown. In my early years, that meant climbing the stairs up to 1075 Clark, a place my Gong Gong had rented in anticipation of his wife and kids joining him, which they eventually did in 1965. His own father had lived in rooming houses and other accommodations designed for single men. However, my Gong Gong had a chance to reunite with his family and make a home. Reflecting back on these visits reminds me how special it must have been for him to spend time with a grandchild, having missed out on his own kids’ childhoods. In fact, for decades, children were a rarity in Chinatowns across North America. Looking back on photos of my Gong Gong and me, I can see the pure joy in his eyes, a regained opportunity to care for a child.
