TODAY IS THE 40TH DAY SINCE WAWI’S (MY GRANDMOTHER) PASSED AWAY. DUE TO MY WORK HERE IN ZAMBOANGA CITY, I CAN’T GO TO HER GRAVE TO LIGHT A CANDLE AND OFFER A PRAYER. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE TO YOU THE EULOGY THAT I WROTE FOR HER. ( I will soon put this in my blog) “Wawi” Good evening. I am Leo Glenn. I am the MOST HANDSOME GRANDSON of the late Lolita Belliot Quidiagan. I am also her only grandson. :-P We called her Wawi. W.A.W.I. We have known her since birth because she is our grandmother. When we were young, my sister and I decided to call her wawi because we were unable to pronounce the word lola. So instead, we called her wawi. Mas sayon man. Wala ra man pod siya ni reklamo. While writing this eulogy about wawi’s life, I can’t help but smile and cry. I don’t know what to write simply because there is so much to write about her. In my effort to do some research about her life, I discovered some very interesting information. She was one of the passengers when Philippine Airlines made its first commercial flight in Pagadian City. Second, did you know nga siya ang editor and proofreader sa song nga “Pagadian My Beautiful City”? Kana bita ginakanta after mag flag raising ceremony. It is equivalent to Zamboanga City’s Zamboanga Hermosa song. As it seemed, she edited the lyrics. Nindota no? Naka contribute diay akong lola anang kantaha. That’s how good she was when it comes to the English language. I also listed details which would immortalize wawi in our hearts, aside from being a grandmother. 1. Teacher – teaching was her passion. I mean it, seriously. Even after 10 years from her retirement, she would still randomly ask us the meaning of certain words; or ask us for synonyms. When we were young, she would sometimes bring home textbooks for us to read. It was her who sparked our passion for reading. That is why all of us Lagnasons took AB English as our college course. Thus, we have more books than clothes. Basta moadto na gani mig mall, mo diretso jud dayon mig National Bookstore. Si wawi jud akong I blame ani. Her passion was so strong that it affected us. Mao kaming mga Lagnason kay nahimo jud nga English Teachers for some time. We were blessed enough to have very memorable experiences with her when she was still a teacher, especially during our elementary years. Example: Basta Recognition day na gani, automatic na jud na nga naa jud siya para mo tan-aw or mo pin sa among ribbons. Ang makalingaw lang kay basta moabot na gani na siya, mag panic gamay ang teachers and ang principal. Pangitaan na dayon na siyag chair dayon itapad sa guest speaker. Mao na dili ko maka recall og recognition day nga naa siya sa bleachers galingkod. Kay didto jud na siya sa presidential table gapatunga sa guest speaker and principal. And so it went on automatically every year. Kada recognition naa na jud nay gi reserve nga chair para kay Maam Quindiagan kay moabot man jud siya. 2. Traveller – she shared with us many stories of her travels when she was young, especially her academic years at the Philippine Normal University (PNU) for her Master’s Degree. She told us about her barkada. “Gang of Seven” man to ang tawag nila kay pito daw sila kabuok nga babaye. Yes! My grandmother was a gangster. Even in the last months of her life, pirmi jud na niya gi balik2x ang mga stories niya of the past. There were a lot of times when we felt irritated because we wanted to talk about something else. Kada adlaw jud kay throwback Thursday. Basta lunchtime or dinnertime na gani na, bisan unsa pa na among topic (whether it be about work, school, or the very rare lovelife) always jud na nga moabot sa punto nga mag throwback Thursday mi. Mahuman na lang among pag kaon pero ang throwback Thursday ni wawi mo extend pa nang isa ka oras. But I realized now that maybe the reason why she kept telling her stories is because she wants to be immortalized. She never wanted to be forgotten. And if I could turn back time, I would listen to all her stories. I miss listening to her stories. 3. Singer – si wawi natural-born singer jud. Kung wala na siya ga solitaire or ga solve sa crossword puzzle, ga kanta na siya. Dili lang isa o duha ka kanta, kundi daghan jud. Siguro mga 4 ka cds. There were even times, kanang ganahan jud siya mokanta, nga moabot og tag tulo ka oras iyang concert. Lupig pa si Whitney Houston. I would remember her sitting near the front door, looking at the street, and singing her heart out while waiving her hand and tapping her feet as if she was the conductor of an orchestra. Everyone must leave something behind when they die. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, youre there. It doesnt matter what you do so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something thats like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime. Personally, I am thankful to wawi for our crazy bonding moments, for laughing at my very corny jokes, for giggling every time I do a provocative dance with just my towel on before i take a bath. I am deeply saddened because I now don’t have any reason to buy Boy-Boy whenever I go home to Pagadian. I used to give her an entire pack of it. But I am happy because her pain and suffering has finally ended. I will remember her through our happy moments. In the end, it’s the small things that I remember must. Those were little imperfections that make them perfect for me, for us. A decade ago, the family went on an outing at the beach. Naligo mi sa crystal-clear water sa Tukuran. After we had our lunch, my sisters and I played a cassette tape. It was the soundtrack of Shrek Part 1. We were very much surprised because she sang along with one of the songs there. Natingala mi. Gipangutana namo. Wa, kabalo lagi ka aning kantaha? Ganahan diay kag Shrek? She told us that the song is actually very old. Ka edad ra diay niya, gi revive lang daw para sa salida. So now,I would like us to listen to this song and join me in my effort to immortalize her. Every time I listen to this song it will be her who will be singing. This is how I will remember her for the rest of my life.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 11:18:30 +0000
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