Woo

I want to tell you about my Great Grandmother Woo. Her name was Mary Wason nee Congoo but everyone called her Woo. She was a beautiful Chinese, Aboriginal woman from Far North Queensland Australia and she was the sweetest little lady you could have ever had the privilege of meeting. Woo was my mother's mother's mother. If you had ever been loved by my Woo Woo, you didn't need to look for it anywhere else.

Woo loved all children. From the early passing of her own mother, Woo had to take on the motherly role and take care of her younger brothers and sisters. She became affectionately known to her baby brother Fred as ‘Mim’.

Woo was such a small lady but she had the strongest backbone of anyone I ever knew. She gave birth to 9 children and after the passing of her husband raised her family on her own.

I remember Woo constantly asking us kids if our seat belts were on and buckled in and the car doors locked before we'd go anywhere, and I thought why? She knows our seatbelts are on, she made me check everyone's every time. Now that I’m a mum I make sure the car doesn’t leave until my daughters seatbelt is secured. It's amazing how we as kids never realised all the things, especially the little things people who cared about us so much were doing just because they loved us. As I look back I have so many things to be thankful for because of Woo.

I write this with tears in my eyes.

It's as if we kids lived a life sheltered by love while our Wooey was still alive. After she passed it was as if a tornado ripped the roof off of our house and we suddenly became exposed to the dangers of this world. If that doesn't make sense, I guess I'm trying to say we lost a sense of guidance, the decisions we started making in our lives were not the ones we would have been making had our Woo Woo still been with us.

One of my favourite things to do was play dress ups in Woo's clothes. She had the most beautiful dresses and hats, she loved her hats.

Woo would always tell me not to wear clothes that would show my mid drift or my bosoms or clothes with anything hanging out. Growing up this became a very important piece of advice because the world will constantly point out your flaws. But if the most beautiful person in the world told you were beautiful, you'd better believe it. Woo would always tell me

"It doesn't matter what you put on, you look beautiful in anything, no matter what you wear."

Although I may be a big girl, I am proud to say I have never felt ugly a day in my life. The word holds no weight in my life and I have my Woo Woo to thank for that. We all need someone like Woo in our lives, someone who constantly tells us how beautiful we are.

There were times Woo would be too proud to ask for help but later realised she needed it. I remember one morning after watching A Country Practise, Woo decided to make a cup of tea. Not too long after she started giggling to herself in the kitchen. She called me to the kitchen to show me she had poured from this particular milk bottle when she made her tea. I didn’t even have to look to realise she had poured Iced Coffee into her cup of tea. She said “I wondered why it tasted a bit funny.” Then she had a little laugh.

I would spend many days home from school. Once my nan and her sister Edie had gone off to work Woo would pull out the weekly Black & White TV guide from the Cairns Post and tell me what shows we were watching that day. Generally it was always the same shows : old Home & Away episodes, A Country Practice and Huey’s Cooking Adventures, we would always watch cooking shows. It was because of Woo that I found my love of cooking.

Throughout the morning Woo would make sure I’d gotten Grandad Tomboy a cup of tea and something to eat for breakfast and lunch before I got hers. Grandad Tomboy is her baby, her youngest and as old as he grew she still called him ‘Her Boy’.

With over 90 years of life there are so many stories, so many memories that I could talk about. Here are just a few that stand out:

• Woo would never eat lamb because she said it represented Jesus. Her innocence knew no bounds.
• Woo always made you feel loved, no matter who you were.
• Woo always wore an Apron, a wide brimmed hat, and took her walking stick whenever she would leave the house.
• She would also wear an apron around the house all the time.
• Woo was the most kind and caring person.
• Woo played guitar and sang beautifully.
• She made the best Chinese cabbage stew.
• Woo never spoke a bad word about anyone.
• 'Truly Fair' was one of her favourite things to say.
• Truly Fair she was.
• Woo would tell me stories of her childhood about her mother and her father.
• Woo would always hide money in her Bible, she'd put it away for a rainy day she said.

Anyone who met her came to love and respect her a great deal. Someone said they had never heard people say ‘I love you’ with each separation as much as they do with our family. No one comes close to how wonderful a person Woo was, sure everyone can have their own interpretation and think they may carry traits like our Woo, but in reality no one is. She was perfect in every way, with a love and kindness unparalleled by any other.

My sister, my Nan and her youngest sister Edie were there when Woo took her last breath, a memory they will forever carry in their hearts. The woman who had loved and cared for each and every one of us, they got to be there with her, love and take care of her right up until the end of her life. Woo passed away peacefully in the middle of the night in my sister's arms.

I look at my child, my sister's child and my brother's children and I wish they got to know her. She would have loved them so much. When my daughter was born, the first thing my grandma Doll said was “Wooey would’ve loved you."

It has been almost 9 years since Woo passed away but the love she planted in everyone’s heart continues to grow and grow. Her presence is felt when her name is mentioned or a photo of her is shared. Even my 3 year old daughter knows who Woo is because we will always continue to tell our friends, our children and our children’s children how wonderful Woo was.