My grandma made banana bread all the time…special occasions, gifts, the bananas were going bad, or just because. I had it so much I never realized how much I loved it. She had her own special recipe, which she never wrote down, and she used to insist you must mix it by hand with a sandok (a rice paddle).
My grandma passed away September 1998. Of the many things I miss about her, I miss the smell of fresh banana bread filling my parents’ house. Fast forward 12 years later my niece, Alinah, created that same smell in my own home. My mom’s attempts, or even my own, were similar but not quite the same. Alinah was born 7 months after my grandma passed away and never once sampled Grandma’s bread. How could it be possible for her to bake Grandma’s bread exactly like Grandma did?
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My grandma’s nickname was Tuding. Alinah’s nickname is Ding Ding. See a similiarity? My sister treasured my grandma so much. They had a special bond unlike my own bond with my grandma. Months after my grandma passed away my sister had a dream in which my grandma told her she was going to have a baby girl. She also said that baby girl’s nickname would be “Ding Ding”. Most of my family has a Filipino nickname and for my sister it’s an honor knowing Grandma nicknamed her Alinah 
