I forgot to blog last night because I was up so late visiting with my brother, Vince, my cousin, Louie, and my Auntie Geri. We had such a fun time sharing family stories, and by the time we were done it was entirely too late to do anything but go straight to bed.
Today we had the funeral mass and interment services for Auntie Vee. Abe did the readings at the mass, and that was a new experience for him. I spent much of the mass in the lobby trying to distract Mary away from her repeated requests to take a nap.
My Auntie Vee is buried next to my father, and I was able to put flowers in my father’s vase for the first time in a decade. It was a really special experience.
We shared so, so many family stories today, and I can’t begin to capture them all here. I am starting to think I need to make a trip to the Philippines ASAP. I had no idea that my Auntie Lily’s carmelite order of nuns have been praying for me my entire life! Not only that, but they know all about my family and pray for them too. Louie explained that the Carmelites are contemplatives who have a ton of time to pray, and so they pray in detail for everyone related to the order. Since I am my Auntie Lily’s namesake, apparently they have been praying for me my whole life. Wow.
Here are the pictures I have from the day:
Below: Cousin Pinky (Mom, she says to tell you hi and that she loves you), Cousin Louie, Mary, Lydia, brother Vince, me, Auntie Geri, and Abe.
