40th Day

Yesterday was my maternal Lola Meding's 40th death day... Nine days prior, we had novena masses said at the chapel in Sto. Nino for the repose of her soul and to pray for the dead as well. Ma and Pa flew to Cebu from Manila for this occasion.

The last mass was celebrated at the family plot in Cempark at 4pm. The weather was just right for about a hundred of us taking cover under the canopy of steel and tarp. I sat there listening to Fr. Punzalan's thought-provoking homily while Pa was his usual paparazzi self taking pictures of the event. I occasionally glanced at Ma to see if she was filled with emotion... perhaps in tears, but as I expected, her face was calm. She has long accepted that Lola has passed on.

Although we all miss Lola in a big way, gone is the grief which initially had most of us reeling in pain and feeling of loss. We still talk of Lola with so much fondness, but without breaking into tears as much as before.

"Where you are now, I was... Where I am now, you will be." was a line that the priest shared. We are consoled by the thought that Lola is in a happy place now where everything is perfect. In time, we'll all be there too.

This morning Ma & Pa flew back to Manila. A different kind of sadness filled me. Now that Lola is gone, their trips to Cebu will not be as often... Oh well... I will have to save up for trips to Manila instead.