Lola

Meine Großmutter ist gestorben.

Mein Herzlichen Beileid sagen die Leute.

Ich bin sehr traurig.

My lola was not able to graduate elementary. She was the oldest from a brood of 9.

She sold furniture and lent money to people. She was traveling from Manila to Benguet and vice-versa with all her goods.

She was selling, talking, convincing people to buy her goods. She’s outstanding in that manner. She was a woman of great strength and character. A feisty woman.

A woman with a good heart and a great mind.

She can add, divide, multiply, and subtract money in a few seconds. She knows the trade and barter so well.

I wished I was as good as her in math!

She was the most hard-working woman I know.

She even worked as a babysitter in the US, even when she was nearing her senior years.

Deswegen habe ich jetzt Schwierigkeiten, die sie nicht mehr hier ist.

And when our family were having problems, she was the one who took care of us and provided us everything: from allowance, to good food, to love and care, and to some extent, a good sermon.

But she does love roughly.

She wanted us to learn how to do chores. And man, was she tough!

She always wanted the dishes to be rinsed twice. She wanted the floor to be thoroughly scrubbed. She was so OC with the clothes that laundry day was my most hated day because it was so tiring! She rinses clothes three times!

But she also taught me perseverance, strength and hard work. Of which I am still nothing compared to her.

And I thank her so much for that.

Gutes Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, Lola. Ich wünsche dich, dass du ein guten Leben hast.

Wir treffen uns im Zukunft.

Ich liebe dich sehr gerne.

“It takes courage to say good-bye to everything and cross a threshold without knowing any idea where it leads.” - Alma, The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende