Four years ago when Mommy was hospitalized because of the flu and other complications we thought it would be her last.  She became comatose but then she woke up and told us of her dream.  She said her relatives long dead visited her and invited her to go with them.  She answered them with a very firm “No, not yet!”  And then she woke up.  We asked her if Dad was there too, but she said he was not around.  Dad was mommy’s first and only love.  We know how much she must have loved him because when Mom couldn’t remember or recognized any of us, she had alzheimer’s disease, it was only Dad she could never forget.  When she was fed and did not want to eat, or when she was bathe, manicured and changed, the mere mention that Pastor will come to visit her, her face would light up and would allow the care giver to feed her and clean her.  When asked who her boyfriend was, she  always says – Pastor.

Mom was very particular of how she looked.  Her make up kit and perfume that Dad gifted her were all imported ones because she didn’t go for the local.  Maybe that also explains why she started to speak English during the duration of her illness.  Mom was a good seamstress.  She made her own dresses, designed them and she really looked good in them.  She also knows how to curd hairs – this she practiced on us and the neighbors too.  Because she loved to always look beautiful first hour of the day, she was already made up and smelled good.  Perhaps, that was the reason why there are 17 of us who came out into this world.

To described my mom as a mother and a wife, all the nice adjectives would be very long and I’m sure we would not be able to come out of this church until dawn.  And so, I want to tell you that Mommy was super in everything.  She loved, she cared, she sacrificed, she gave her all for us.  She really was a super mom.

Mom was very proud of her name – Maria or Mary as we often call her, because she was named after Mama Mary.  She was a devotee of our Blessed Mother and always prayed to Her in difficult times.  She was also a devotee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary of the Miraculous Medal, The Legion of Mary, and the Habit of the Lourdes.  Dad and Mom always put God first in their daily life.  There are 17 siblings and I just can’t imagine how Dad and Mom took care of all of us but I think it must have been their support and love for each other and with God’s guidance that helped them tackled this difficult job.

During Mom’s invalid years, we all did our part to keep her happy and comfortable.  My brothers and sisters, my brothers and sisters in laws, all the grand children gave their support and love.  To all of them, my thanks and appreciation.  But my special appreciation and thanks go to Brod Alan, who devoted almost half of his life taking care of Mom, waking up in the middle of the night to attend to her, in fact, doing all the “dirty works” in attending to Mom’s needs.  And also to Brod Maurice who was Alan’s assistant doing and helping him in taking care of Mom.  A big hand to these two who were always with Mommy morning , noon and night when the rest of us could not be there all the time.

Monday, June 14, 2010, 3:45PM – D Day.   This was the day when Mom finally left with Dad.  The first time she was fetched, Dad was not there, so she did not go, but this time Dad was there together with our Junior Pastor, Our Lawyer, Warlito, and also our beloved aunt and second mother, Tiyay Trining who helped took care of us and devoted all here life to attend to us and never married – they were there to fetch her and so she went.

Thank you all for coming not to mourn with us, but to celebrate with us for Mom’s home coming to our Heavenly Father.