We call her Baba because my cousin Destiny couldn’t pronounce the ngoại in bà ngoại so Baba it was. She can not speak English despite being in the US for decades. She watched all of her grandchildren during the day when their parents were at work, up until they reached to age to go to school. She fed them, changed their diapers, and most importantly taught them Vietnamese. Simply phrases and pointing, then labeling and pronouncing, she wanted her language to live. Eventually, she sadly let go of each one of them, September was always the hardest month for her. Baba watched as her grandchildren learned English. Slowly the Vietnamese faded away because there was no use for it in public school. Watching the conversations fall to basic words, she feels saddened. Her hard work is all gone, her culture gone. Now her whole family talks in this language, like a puzzle she figures out the pieces. Some are familiar some not so she chooses to sit on the high stools, while everyone else sits at the dining table.