Anton Lee @ 1.11

Your lolo passed on last 7 August and we flew to the Philippines two days after.

You first met your lolo when you were three months old. Daddy, Mommy, and you went to Tacloban to celebrate Christmas that year. Your lolo said you looked like your Daddy so much that he kept calling you Vinchy.

You saw your lolo again one year later in Manila. A horrendous hurricane hit Tacloban in November 2013 that family members residing in the city fled to Manila. Lolo does not like staying in Manila for protracted periods but he was prevailed to stay on with us this time since conditions were abysmal in Tacloban for several weeks: there was no electricity and water supply, there was scarcity of food and medicines, there were hardly medical facilities left standing, public transportation was unreliable, one had to stand in long queues before being able to buy gasoline, telecommunication was almost non-existent, and there was absolute chaos for several weeks. According to one of Mommy’s former colleagues who went to Tacloban to render medical assistance a few days after the hurricane, the city looked like it was bombed – homes were flattened, the coconut trees lining the airport to the city were gone, people were moving around dazed and without direction, and bodies were lying on the roads unclaimed. Grey and mud puddles were everywhere.

It was during this terrible time that our family weaved a cocoon of security around itself and we stayed together, comforting each other. While we were thankful that our family members have managed to stay safe during the hurricane and were able to move to safer places, we prayed and grieved for those who were not so fortunate.  For weeks we all stayed together – lolo, lola, your uncles, aunties, and cousins.

They say that there is a silver lining in every cloud.  Now that lolo has passed on, we treasure those days in Manila. Those days we spent with lolo were probably the longest since Mommy left home at 18 years old, save for the summer vacations when she was at law school. We treasure those days because those were the last we spent with lolo: enjoying his wit, his sense of humour, and his sage advice.

Christmas 2013

Integrity, humility, love of family, hard work, simplicity in living one’s daily life – these were the tenets that lolo consistently lived by and constantly exhorted us to adopt, teaching by example. He was not one for quick fixes but one who laboured assiduously trying to find a solution to perplexing problems. His workshop was a marvel with all sorts of gadgetry and inventions. Mommy has thought about having his innovations patented at one point, but lolo was a man who only sought to provide his clients with efficient service and practical answers to their everyday issues. While he prided himself at being one of the very few Professional Mechanical Engineers in the region, he was not overly concerned with establishing legacies, always saying that everything is part of the cycle of life.

People who did not really know him and were aware of his intelligence and innovativeness, might have been tempted to conclude that lolo was a man lacking in ambition. Lolo however, was one of those rare breed of men who had that uncanny discernment early in life of what truly mattered.  He was a man who eschewed frivolities, always preferring substance. He put God first; he loved and provided for his family; and he enjoyed his work. Thus, he was able to remain humble in his everyday dealings.

He cared deeply for lola. He did not like being away from home for more than a couple of days, always wondering whether lola was eating properly. When he flew back to Tacloban after the hurricane and lola stayed on in Manila, for a couple of weeks to help us out, lolo always asked how lola was. He wanted to make sure that lola was always being taken care of.

February 2012

Lolo was very much involved in making sure that his children get themselves established before he passed on and that they had the means and the ability to give their own children comfortable lives. He always reminded us to work hard and save for the rainy day. He never failed to stress that education was the best gift that he and lola could pass on to us. He always reminded his children to pray. He had a deep, abiding faith in his Creator.

Christmas 2003

After lolo was buried, we stayed in Tacloban for a week staying with our family. It was during this week that you turned one year and 11 months. We were thinking before of having a big birthday party for you in Tacloban when you turn Two. But that will not come to materialise now.

Instead, we celebrated your month before turning Two quietly with family. Nothing complicated, nothing organised, just going with the flow, happy at just being together. Come to think of it, this is what how lolo just wanted things. As lolo loved to say, “Simple life, simple problems.”

Mommy is certain lolo was with us that day, grinning from ear to ear, happy that his family was all together. If there was one thing that was sure to make lolo happy, it was seeing his brood under one roof, breaking bread.

 

 

 Eternal rest, grant unto him dear Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace; Amen.