Happy Birthday Papa

It has been exactly one year since my Papa passed away. It may be the end for some of us. But for me, it is The Beginning. The start of a new life in Heaven. That's why I'd rather call it his "spiritual birthday" than his "death anniversary".

When he passed away last year, it felt like a ton of bricks fell on me.
It was (and still is) the most painful experience of my life. But then again, GOD was so good to our family. He could have taken my Papa on his initial stroke. But he loves us so much that he gave us six more months to be with him.

I can still remember the sequence of events that happened that fateful day. I received a call from my sister in NJ on Nov 13, 2003 at 4:00 am and as I picked up the phone I heard her sobbing. She told me "wala na si PAPA...". And I couldn't believe my ears. I kept on asking her where he was. Man, I was in complete denial. I couldn't contain myself for almost 3 hours. My mind raced back to the time that I made him promise to wait for me when I come back in December. I was looking forward to spending Christmas with him but I guess GOD had better plans.

I often wondered if the grieving process would ever end. The good news is that it does. The sad part is, the pain doesn't go away. I still get all choked up when his memories come to mind. The hugs, the kisses, the i-love-yous, the words of encouragement, endless dates, movie marathons, the corny jokes, the laughter...I'm just glad that I have gazillions of them to cherish. I am so blessed to have a Father like my Papa. He will and always be the Best Papa in the whole world.

I was planning to list the things that I miss most about my Papa but I figured that there wouldn't be enough space. So, I decided to leave you the lyrics to his favorite song, 'Till The End of Time' by Perry Como. I sang this to him as we were driving towards the airport for my flight going back to LA. Little did I know that it would be our last trip together...

Till the end of time, long as stars are in the blue
Long as there's a Spring of birds to sing I'll go on loving you

Till the end of time, long as roses bloom in May
My love for you will grow deeper with every passing day

Till the wells run dry and each mountain disappears
I'll be there for you to care for you through laughter and through tears

So take my heart in sweet surrender and tenderly say that I'm
The one you love and live for till the end of time

Papa, I love you very much.... Till we meet again.