Grandad Uses Instagram To Share His Life’s Story With The Grandson He Might Not See Growing Up

Published 7 years ago

75-year-old Korean grandfather Chan Jae Lee was never too much into technology and especially the social media, but that changed when his grandson Astro was born. Fearing that he won’t have the time to transfer his life lessons onto his grandson, Chan started an Instagram account which he updates daily with illustrations and stories from his life and the life around him.

The Brasil-based amateur artist now spends time with his daughter and her two sons, Arthur and Allan. A couple of kids might seem like a lot of work, but his son Ji Lee still found his father to have too much time on his hands. So he finally managed to persuade him to open an Instagram account where he could share his illustrations, which are a very nice mix of different styles and complexity.

At first reluctant, grandad found the idea worth doing when he realized he might not have the chance to see his newborn grandson grow up, and this could be a channel to reach him when he’s gone. So he teamed up with his wife who writes the captions and stories for his illustrations which have now formed a sort of Insta-library of life lessons made to reflect on his grandad’s life and what sort of world he lived in.

Oh, and don’t you think for one second, that you can’t do the same: “I was able to start Instagram with the help from my family. It brings lots of joy and connects us all every day. I believe if I can do this, anyone, with the help from their family, can do it too,” Chan told Instagram Blog.

More info: instagram (h/t: mymodernmet)

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“What’s Astro doing? He’s touching grandpa’s nose and saying ‘nose, nose, nose!'”

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“What makes this little boy so curious? I’m also curious. What is this little boy looking at? I also want to see it together.”

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Grandma: Oh my! I can’t believe it’s already the last day of 2016!
Grandpa: Time is always flowing, so there’s no last.”

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“On the first of January, all Korean children get dressed in the traditional costume hanbok, and do a deep bow saying “I hope you receive lots of blessings in the new year, grandpa and grandma!”
Astro also learned how to do it from his parents. “Thank you, Astro. I also hope you receive many blessings!” This bowing in the new year is an old Korean tradition called ‘sebae.'”

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All children’s friend is a dinosaur. Even in Brazil people discovered dinosaur’s fossils. Why do you think they disappeared?

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Take a look at people who are carrying heavy loads. Take a look at people who have hard lives. Let’s be empathetic and let’s try to help them.

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“This is the view from our living room. You guys used to look at it after climbing on the sofa. São Paulo is like this… a combination of modern high buildings and old houses with red roof tiles.”

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“Astro received a mini circus tent as a Christmas gift. “Come find grandpa!” Where does the voice come from? Astro is carefully looking inside the tent.”

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Kids are going to school together. “Hold my hand tight.” Dad and the big brother are making the little one feel safe.

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Astro is sleeping with Oskar the cat. The old cat Oskar is taking care of the little baby. They’re nice friends.

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“Yesterday was your grandma’s birthday. Doesn’t she seem happy? Your grandma was born on December 23, 1942. So how old is she?”

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“What an amazing world. There are new things I can hardly understand. And you guys get it right away. Virtual Reality. So, you can wear a goggle like this, enter a bedroom and pick pieces of furniture, right?”

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“So many houses, right? In many countries there are places like this. This is the famous favela “Rocinha” in Rio de Janeiro, where the Olympics will take place.”

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“These are camera we have at home. In the past we used to use them a lot, but these days we don’t use them at all. That’s because of smart phone. Sign of changing times.”

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“Baby koala, mama koala.”

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Do you guys know Mother Theresa who dedicated her life helping the poor in India? She died in 1997 and we’ve read she has become a saint in the catholic church. We are learning more about what is a saint.

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“I saw this flower pattern necktie at a shopping mall and I bought it right away.”

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Here’s a cute bear you guys love. Do you know what Pandas like? Take a guess. It’s in the drawing.

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“Kids love water. Arthur and Allan used to love to play in the pool. I think about the three A, A and A cousins playing in the water laughing.”

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“The time when we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to see my grandson Astro.”

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“Who is this? It’s little monkey called Astro getting ready for the Halloween.”

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“Grandma and grandpa came to New York for the holidays. We were wondering if Astro would be shy, but as soon as he saw his grandpa, he gave a big smile!”

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“Astro’s hands”

Andrius

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amateur artist, amateur illustrator, Astro, Chan Jae Lee, daily illustrations, grandpa Instagram, life lessons
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