A Legacy

We celebrated our Lolo Simeon's 3rd death anniversary last Sunday. Went to mass in San Rafael, went to the cemetery, prayed the rosary, asked for good intentions for both our grandparents' souls as a family. It was nice.

My Lolo meant a lot to me. A force that is ever-present within me. My heart gets that warm feeling as I think of him.

Two instances pop into mind:

Some years ago, was already part of the yuppie genre, was carrying a load, specifically a heartache, my very first. Some guy. I was ballistic, I was depressed, I was everything but fine. It was a Saturday and my Lolo offered to buy me a new spare tire because a few nights ago, the trunk was forced open and the spare was stolen. Grrrrrr. Sigh. The joys of living in a third-world country. Anyway, so we went to shop for a new one and I was glad for the time we spent together. Here was a man who stood by her wife when she went blind, who had raised a family of six children through different odd jobs, lost a daughter, lost a wife. This man went through it all and maintained his dignity, strength and character. And here I was, nursing a small scar, being selfish, thinking that my world goes downhill from here. How wrong I was for even thinking that. How humbling it was to be in my Lolo's presence. That made my day. I saw everything in a new light. Things began to make sense. Most imporatantly, Lolo loved and cared for me enough to think that I needed a new spare. Li'l ol' me. I felt special.

Fast forward, a few years more. When Lolo goes back to Manila a few days in a month, I made it a priority, nay, a necessity to swing by his house in the mornings before I go to work. I loved hearing his stories. He was a good conversationalist, telling his past animatedly. Great stories of hard work, good ethics, hurdling obstacles, formidable travels. I was hooked. In one of those countless mornings, I heard him say the word 'anarchy'. To me that was a big word. I thought that I was pretty smug about my intelligence to the point of being cocky. But this word was alien to me at that time and Lolo used it so ordinarily. My Lolo who had not finished high school but had gotten street-smart, book-smart and business-smart all on his own. Meanwhile, me with my college degree and partial master's degree in high-end universities, he still towered above me. I didn't know that it was possible but I came to respect him even more.

This is the legacy that Lolo left with. He lives in me. He lives in every life that he touched. He will live within every person whom I touch. This circle will keep on moving forward. He is a great man. I will be grateful if my years here develop me into a character even half of what he was. I am honored to have known him and proud that we share the same blood.

You will never be forgotten.