Goodbye Auntie Amy!

The weekend was quite sad. My Ima – the youngest sister of my Guama (my mom’s mother) was cremated last Saturday – she succommed to Breast Cancer last Thursday. Funerals are really sad, but one good about funerals is that – it brings the family together.

It has been ages since I last saw my aunts, uncles, grandparents (the siblings of my Guama)! The last time I saw my aunts and uncles (cousins of my mom) – most of them were not married yet – and now – they have kids! Not babies – but kids ranging from 10 years old and below. One of my second cousins asked their mom ‘Why are there Koreans here?’ I knew they were referring to me! Obviously! Hahaha.. And their parents told them ‘She’s your cousin!’ He looked at me confused and looked at his dad again – as if he knew it was a joke. But it wasn’t. Haha!! He was a little shocked to hear me speak english!

I knew that I had mestiza and mestizo aunts and uncles – but when you see their kids – gosh – there’s no trace of anything Asian with them! They all look of Spanish descent – well, partly they are but I guess the Spanish blood was far stronger than the Chinese blood. For the first time – I had cousins who looked so different from me!! Hahaha.. But mind you – they were not cute – they were all handsome and beautiful!!

My Ima – well, I call her Auntie Amy (even if I should call her Granny Amy) – she’s just 7 years older than my mom. We’re not that close but there’s the feeling of closeness. We’ve travelled together for 2 years in a row! We went to LA, Las Vegas and joined an Alaskan Cruise. She was really really nice, funny and loving. You can feel the love – I can’t explain it but there’s this feeling whenever we’re together. We learned she had Cancer about 2-3 years ago and she battled it quite well! She was strong and determined to fight. It was only last December that we learned that things were going downhill. She even told my mom that she was ready to go – because she’s seen her 2 daughters grow-up, and that was already enough for her.

I can’t recall exactly when – but I still got to talk to her a few weeks or a month back. It was actually a sudden thing because my mom and I were just talking about her and she called us up! I was the one who answered the phone – and I was shocked to hear her voice at the other end! I asked how she was and she wall all happy and laughing! I can still hear her laughter and her soothing voice – as if she was just beside me.

It really saddens me that she’s gone.

We’ll all miss you Auntie Amy. Have fun in heaven!!