Dad, WE LOVE YOU 8!

It’s been a while since I last blogged. So many things had happened and they were a bit out of hand. A very close friend got married a week ago and helping her in some areas of preparation was part of my duty as her Matron of Honour. But that’s not this post is all about. Something devastating happened to my family. My father passed away last March 1st due to cardiac arrest in San Diego USA where he and my mom lives. It was too sudden that everyone who knows him and the family could not believe it. He never had heart complains for the last 10 years. He was 77. And tomorrow, March 22, was and will still be, “the most important date of the year” – his birthday.

I want to share with you my sister’s letter in behalf of the family, thanking everyone for saying their prayers for my dad and for the family, for constantly sharing us with their love, comforting words, and warm thoughts and concerns.

Read along…


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Hello All,

It is now 12:19am of March 20th … and the next couple of days (March 22 to be exact) will be what was always celebrated -- well at least among the Manalo clan -- as the "most important date of the year" … Daddy Deo's birthday!.. He would've turned 78 …

Before I go any further, again, in behalf of my mom, my brother and 3 sisters, and everyone else in our family, we'd like to say BIG, BIG THANK YOU TO ALL for the warm thoughts and concern, for all the support, and for the sympathies and sincerest prayers you have offered us upon Dad's sudden demise last March 1st …

As I had said, the family remains strong and steadfast in the midst of this trying and difficult moment in our lives. And this is partly because of the family and friends' overwhelming expression of love for our Dad and for our family …

Backtracking a bit, Dad was diagnosed to have angina pectoris since 1996 and has been on nitrolingual since then. However, this was used only when necessary … He became conscious and extra-cautious with his diet and was very religious with his medications. Eventually, all that paid off as he was always given a clean bill of health during his Annual Physical Exams and was found to still be fit to work. However, on February 28th, he just happened to have left his nitrolingual spray at a time when he badly needed it. Thus, by 11:45pm of that day, he had phoned my Mom to inform that he wasn't feeling that well and would immediately need the spray as soon as he would arrive home … Unfortunately though, Dad suffered from heart attack, which was actually his first since the diagnosis 13 years ago, and didn't survive ...

From time to time, certain "what ifs" would cross our minds … but later comes the acceptance that, indeed, it really was Dad's time to go home and be with the Lord … We are all just thankful that the attack did not happen on the freeway when he was driving home. He was still able to reach home, even able to park the car in the driveway and spend his last moments with my Mom by his side ... And knowing my Dad, too, am sure that during those final moments, he was fervently praying and lifting everything up to God and then faithfully accepting His will …

During the necrological service held at the Holy Family Parish last Monday, March 9th, there were so many things that I heard and still learned about Dad …from the eulogists who willingly related their memories of him, from colleagues from various socio-civic organizations who credited him for his numerous contributions and projects, from relatives who shared unforgettable moments with him and from family friends whose lives he had touched in one way or another … They all talked about the many acts of kindness and selfless deeds he has done as a faithful servant of our Lord, how jolly and optimistic a person he was and how he was as a man of BIG faith …

Till the very end, he remained to be the selfless person that he was -- he was still of service to others … Dad signed up to be an organ donor … And last March 15th, Mom informed that she received certificates of appreciation from the eye bank and Life-Sharing organizations and how these groups considered my Dad to be a hero for also donating parts of his body to be able to help someone in need. If I may mention, these included his eyes, skin from the torso, arms and buttocks for reconstructive surgery, limbs from his legs to help someone walk, and even a part of his brain to be able to help a person's mind work again. Amidst all the pain brought by the loss, I felt truly proud and humbled at the same time …

You know, as our way of paying tribute to Dad, there were two AVPs which I prepared … They were done in time for the March 7th viewing in San Diego, CA and for the necrological rites here in Manila on March 9th. For some reason, the AVPs couldn't be sent to the U.S. by email before March 7th … and on March 9th, inspite of having conducted some technical tests prior, the AVPs also didn't play during the necrological rites … We were also fortunate to have been granted permission to hold simultaneous viewing online from 3:00am – 8:00am, Manila time of March 8th … but then again, the technician assigned wasn't suddenly available … My mom said that probably, Dad didn't want us to see him – well not yet – in a coffin … maybe Dad preferred it that people would remember him the way he was while he was still alive … and that perhaps, Dad wanted to spare people from leaving the viewing and necrological rites with heavy hearts …

Which suddenly reminded me of a song that Dad once told me, about twelve years ago, to be one of his favorites … That time though, I thought the lyrics sounded kinda morbid so I didn't give it as much attention … I never thought it would take me more than a decade to eventually appreciate the song … I now find it to be very fitting since the words, most especially the chorus part, best encapsulates the kind of memory my Dad wants us to have of him … Add to it, the song's tempo isn't your usual fare of a highly emotional ballad … The chorus says:

And when I die I keep on living
You'll always have my love seeing you through
I'll be your angel up in heaven
Forever all my love will shine on you
Cause baby I love you
Baby I need you
Yes, I do

So this was the song that I used in one of the AVPs …Title is When I Die, and sung by No Mercy in 1997 …

The other AVP simply shows Dad as a father to his five children, as father-in-law to his "manugangs", as a grandfather to seven (going eight) grandchildren and as a husband and soulmate to my mom …

I'd like to share these videos with you, which were both uploaded in youtube …

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=lSp2DLRsV0w
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=xFzpbgQB3dY

Dad also always ended his emails and text messages with "I love you 8", which he said meant that he will love us till eternity … I know Dad is in a much better place now and will always look down upon us and take care of us …"Dad, you will be sorely missed … WE LOVE YOU 8!"

It's Dad's birthday on Sunday, March 22 … The family would like to request you to please say a short prayer for him, for his soul, and read thru his favorite Bible verse, Psalm 23 …

Psalm 23 - A psalm of David
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.


Again, thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts …


Mom, kids and grandkids

God bless you all!

Christmas Greetings 2008

How To Plan A Family Reunion

Family reunions are the most popular in all reunions especially during the Christmas holidays. We keep in touch with distant relatives in so many ways. However, even with all the contributions of technology, it's still nice to see them in person once in a while. In fact, there's simply no alternative for it. They allow us to connect on a real, personal level with people who share our bloodline, most we rarely get to see.

Getting organized is the key in planning a family reunion. Planning an event like this can be an enormous job. To that end, you should ask for volunteers to help you. Many very large families actually form committees of people to handle different aspects of the event, such as location of venue, food (potluck or catered), invitations, fund raising, program and entertainment, etc. If you can get help and delegate responsibilities, things will be a lot easier on you.

Next, ask everyone who is being invited for their preferences of date, time and location. Also find out if anyone has any special dietary requirements that will need to be taken into consideration in menu planning. Once you have an idea of what people want, you'll be able to plan a better reunion.

Then, decide on a theme. Themes bring family reunions together in a big way. Will your theme be heritage, tropical, character inspired, or something else? Your decorations and invitations will have the same theme, as well as your planned activities.

Entertainment is important. You need to keep everyone occupied and engaged with each other. Plan games and other exciting activities that guests of all ages can enjoy. Karaoke, board games, parlor games and other fun activities are all popular reunion events.

Menu is as important as entertainment. Some reunions are catered, while others are covered dish or potluck. You should definitely not try to do it all yourself, as this would be overwhelming. Delegation is the key. Just be sure to make the food suitable for the venue and pleasing for the largest number of people. If you have any vegetarians or other family members with special dietary requirements, be sure to include foods those people can eat.

Once you learn how to plan a family reunion, it gets easier to do in the future. After your first try, you will have the skills you need to create delightful reunions any time your family wants to get together. In effect, if your first reunion is a success, you will likely always be the one the others call on to plan more events.

Sweetest Day

I thought today was just another boring Saturday until my cell phone beeped around 4pm. A text message from my sister asking what was I doing at that moment. I replied “Nothing. Why?” She asked me to see her at the mall; she’ll buy some stuff for her kids then to the supermarket to hoard on Jasmine Thai Rice that were on sale. She also asked me to bring Janus with me. “Of course I’ll bring him”, I said. So off we went. Then she texted our other sister to join us too but she’ll be out of the office at 6pm, so she’ll just follow later. Then another thought came to her, “what if we’ll ask our hubbies to follow later and have dinner altogether someplace?” TIIIING!!!! What a brilliant idea! It’s been 2 weeks now since we last went out because hubby and son were both sick (at the same time) for a couple of days….hubby with flu; son with fever then colds. This is a great chance to see my sibs again and have quality time together…oh I miss them. Besides, they miss Janus too a lot. It was just unfortunate that we didn’t have our digicams, so we just settled with our cell phone cams instead.

While at the mall, my sister felt she needs to make up on my son so she bought Janus a set of jumpers. Sweet isn’t? We saw these table cloths with Christmas designs – she got me one too. Isn’t that double sweet? What about the dinner? We went mall-hopping and landed on a Chinese restaurant. There we shared their mouth-watery specialties and ended our meals with desserts (I had a banana split hahaha…I just can’t get enough of food). Not to mention all the chit chats and LOLs we had over food. Now that’s triple sweetness!!! I never thought this day would be a long and happy day. I just feel so happy.

We all went home with a full tummy. We dropped my sister and her daughter home with all her shopping bags. And before we left her house she gave me a “balato”. I asked her what was that for, she only said “nothing”. Hmmmm…..is today my lucky day? Nah! She’s just SUPER SWEET today!!!

I love you sisters! Mwah!

Perfect Match

It was 4 years ago when i had a major surgery when i donated my kidney to my older sister Sunday. it was the 11th of January 2003 and i can still remember that day on our way to the operating room of NKTI. i wanted the anesthesia to take effect immediately so i'd fall asleep and not see the hallways of the hospital. i was shivering. but did i ever thought of backing out? hell NO!!!

looking way way back....i hesitated to donate at first (that's just normal isn't it?). of course i was scared...so scared that i cried when i first found out that my blood type matched hers. for me it was a confirmation that this donation thing will and must push thru whether i like it or not. i had hesitations and made a lot of excuses...but thanks to a little complicated situation in my peaceful life i decided to make a big difference and make it more meaningful, after all she's my sister (lol). after acquiring all the required lab tests, all gave a positive match... we were A PERFECT MATCH.

the surgery lasted for about 6-7hours. "where's Sunday? is she alright?" were my thoughts when i woke up after the transplant, still feeling groggy. YES WE MADE IT! it was a success!!! thanks to all who prayed and keeps on praying for the 2 of us. there was a very low chance of rejection --THANK GOD!!! God is really good. HE wanted Sunday to live a longer life, build her own family and be an inspiration to others. it's been 4 years now that she still carries around with her my kidney and living a clean healthy life with Curtis in WA. she pursued her career as a banker and has fulfilled her dream to work on a food chain...nice job eh! all these are "answered prayers".

4 years ago when i thought my life was miserable....wasted....living without a purpose. then i realized i was totally wrong when Vhic said he's lucky to have me. at first i wondered why, but now i understand what he meant when he greeted me "happy lifesaver's day!"