I woke up just before 6am Friday (Philippine Time). I walked into my Dad\u2019s room and his caretaker and his house help were huddled around him in disbelief. The house help mumbled something that I didn\u2019t understand but when I saw Dad\u2019s lifeless body, I knew what she was trying to say. I reached for his chest. He was no longer breathing. His heart had stopped beating. Dad had passed on to eternity. Both of them looked at me for instructions. I knew there was a lot of work ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had rehearsed going through this moment ever since I arrived here over 2 weeks ago. And now that it\u2019s here, it\u2019s a little different. I started to go through the checklist in my head: First, have a video conference with my sisters, then inform the Kapitan Del Barrio (the Barrio Captain), get the doctor\u2019s death certificate, inform the city registrar, inform the funeral home, get a priest, inform the cemetery, wrap up his finances, inform the relatives, etc. It\u2019s the end of the long day and I still need to make arrangements tomorrow. My surviving sisters are giving me advice and moral support but they can\u2019t come so I\u2019m doing this with the help of the people around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have not shed a tear yet. I think it\u2019s the Adrenalin that put my emotions aside. I remember that this also happened when my Mom passed away. It was months later that I found myself sobbing uncontrollably. \u201cI\u2019ll weep for you Dad, but today is not the day. Today, I have to make sure you have a good final goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I appreciate all the kind thoughts and prayers. There are a lot of you. And for that, my father and I are truly blessed. TGIF people!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.\u201d<\/em> He\u2019s Gone WARNING: Very personal letter. Not in a funny mood. Let\u2019s joke around next week. I woke up just before 6am Friday (Philippine Time). I walked into my Dad\u2019s room and his caretaker and his house help were huddled around him in disbelief. The house help mumbled something that I didn\u2019t understand but when …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[818],"tags":[2740,2662,5336],"class_list":["post-33615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-raouls-tgif","tag-dad","tag-death","tag-rsvp"],"yoast_head":"\n
\u2014- John 11:25-26<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"