Grandpa's Internment

おじいちゃんの抑留。（おじいちゃんのよくりゅう）Ojīchan no yokuryū. trans. Grandpa's Internment.

I'm never good at saying goodbye to a loved one when they die. The first time I attended a memorial was some 5 years ago in April 2006 when my maternal grandmother died. And then  a little over 2 years ago in August 2008, my paternal grandfather died. And now, just at the start of the year 2011, my maternal grandfather passed away. It's never easy to accept these kinds of facts but that, I guess, is the fact that one has to accept.

My grandpa's memorial service lasted for five days, starting two days after his passing. It was bittersweet considering the fact that the memorial chapel we were staying at was just next to the one my grandma (his wife) was back in 2006. On the evening of the fifth day, when he was already cremated and in his little marble urn, there was a eulogy. And like all eulogies, the waterworks of tears flowed frequently, if not the constant sounds of sniffling noses.

There were plenty of stories tossed about; some serious and heartfelt, others comedic and yet still heartfelt. Here was a man who was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother and what have you that lived life to its absolute fullest. Naturally when my turn came, tears were not a stranger to me. I cried, laughed and cried some more. Because I was so close to him, I'm glad that at least my girlfriend was in attendance to help me through these difficult times.

On the day of the burial, to my surprise, I didn't find myself crying immensely as I originally thought I would. Tears still fell, but not to the point that I couldn't breathe through my nose properly anymore. I found myself smiling fondly, thinking only of good memories of the man I knew and loved as my Grandpa George.

Grandpa spoiled me while he was here. Since he always got money from my mom from his account in Philippine pesos, he would usually coax/force me to get 100 pesos from his wallet as a daily allowance. Just because he wanted to. Grandpa was my partner in a lot of things. When my Grandma Rose died, he and I became email buddies for a while, exchanging email whenever possible. I'm glad I got to learn about his job and his life both from emailing with him and chatting with him over breakfast when he was here.

If anything, I would think that Grandpa prepared me for this occasion. I managed to pull through the time I should have cried the hardest by clinging on to the thought that he would always be there. Grandpa George was someone who always enjoyed joking around and making people smile when they were down. So for Grandpa, I made sure that a sad occasion wasn't so sad for me, especially because he would tell me that everything just blows over and life goes on; that even if he isn't around anymore, he has left knowing that everyone is ready to take on the world.

I'll follow up this entry with pictures some other time. :) For now, BED.