Lola Lourdes

Day 12 of 24We attended the 6 AM mass before heading out on the 4-5ish hour drive to El Nido. We were in the middle of mass, and I thought it was quite odd to see BJ go up to my parents and whisper to them something. During "peace be with you," my Mom finally turned around to try to whisper/mouth to us what happened because I and the rest of the family were sitting in a different part of the church.Lola Lourdes had passed away.Lola (pronounced lou-lah, Filipino for grandma) is my Dad's Mom, she was 91 years old. Visiting her was the first part of the trip when my parents and BJ first arrived to the Philippines. They stayed 5 days with her in Manila. I was going to see her when we got back from Palawan. Everyone kept saying she was just waiting for Dad & BJ to visit.The family is doing well. My Dad's a G. He decided that we should continue with our trip, because there's nothing we can really do right now at this point. Sadly, he's right. When it comes to moving forward, my Dad is the strongest in that arena.The rest of the Vivares siblings are arriving towards the end of the week. Currently Lola is in Manila and will be taken to Cagwait, Surigao where she will be laid to rest next to Her husband Lolo Nino.When we were growing up, Lola would spend a year in America and a year back in the Philippines. When she was in the US, she would stay with us. Growing up, she would make us rice and eggs for breakfast, read us bible stories at night or tell us ghost stories (whichever we were in the mood for) and she would always get mad at Dad for over disciplining us. She loved to sing and had a distinct laughter. Lola was always laughing. Sometimes when she stayed with us, it would be the same time Mom's parents would stay with us as well. Lola and Papa Rudy were like best friends. Always laughing, buying lotto together and they always kept us fed. Not only will she reunite with her husband, but she'll see her bff again.Lola never remarried when Lolo Nino passed away over 45 years ago. She was a very classy lady. She liked the finer things in life and always expected the best out of you. She focused on her health and always took her vitamins. She was loved by many and will always be remembered by her great smile and beautiful voice.Most of the pictures I have with Lola are from film cameras. This is the only digital one I could find right now. Like the Matriarch she was, she's the lady in right in the middle of the family. This was taken in 2010 when my Dad and I visited the Philippines and we took her with us to Cebu.Rest In Peace Lol, say hi to Papa Rudy for me.