Ika 25 ng Oktubre 2008

Brainchild's break.....


This is the first of the series of visits to the cemetery to visit loved ones. My youngest brother and I and our families are visiting my parents and a brother. My other brother would visit on the actual day itself. November 1 is also intended for my father in law. My parents' and brother's new home is far from home. Being practical and hating being in an ocean of humanity on All Saints' Day, I have timed our visits before or after November 1, frequently before. These are short visits lasting at most an hour. I don't believe in showing our love for our dear departed ones by lingering the whole day in the cemetery. Nothing beats prayers in reaching out to or remembering our deceased loved ones. MIL, on the other hand, wants a whole day affair at the cemetery which I don't particularly relish........ more on that next week.

Another thing about these cemetery visits, no elaborate preparations are required. We bring candles and flowers pick from our garden sometimes. Before I used to buy fancy candles and have flowers arranged by florist. But here, some shady characters would have no qualms getting the candles and flowers as soon as you are out of sight. This is not a public cemetery but it still happens. Because of this, I opted to buy smaller candles and let the kids spread out the flowers.

Once we are at my parents' grave, we light the candles and say our prayers. The kids would arrange the flowers on the tombstone in a cute way. At some point, my brother and I would go to our brother's grave. The kids would sometimes follow us. The wide span of space in the cemetery allows freer expression and greater movement. My son and nephew would run around and we would see them wherever they go to. We would linger and just talk reminiscing the past when our family was complete, mostly bordering on the funny side. The kids would listen. After what should be done is done, we bade our loved ones goodbye teasing the kids to give my parents a kiss...... and they would all feign shock....

Year after year, this has been our tradition. Today is no different.

Being practical and the multitasker that I am, I have also lined up several side trips to some people I dealt with and need to meet up with to possibly close our deals.... so we would be visiting some dog owners and bird breeders later as well. I hope to be able to squeeze in a trip to the pet shop....

PS: Kainis naman at umulan ngayon. Ilan araw ang init init, ngayon pa pinili na umulan kung kailan bibisita kami sa sementeryo. Mahirap pag umuulan at maputik sa sementeryo. Ok lang ang makulimlim na panahon pero wag na sana umulan..... wish ko lang.