the inevitable

i only have two uncles and an aunt from my mom's side still able to walk, talk and breathe. my father's only brother was accidentally shot in the us 40 years ago (henry was a navyman and news was that he was accidentally shot in a hunting trip. oh, sure, let me trust the us navy)

my mom's second sister succumbed to cancer this morning or night (LA time). so, i decided to make a list of their death months so i could not forget.

february - lolo celestino, eleng (their dad)

march - lola loring (my paternal grandmother)

april - tito baby, anselmo (my mom's second brother though i'm not sure)

may - lola meding, remedios (their mom; whose cold dead body was the first i touched)

june - tita medy, remedios (my mom's second sister)

july - tito bill, guillermo (my mom's eldest bachelor brother)

august - my mom, mercedes (after she died, i never looked into anyone's coffin again.... hmmm... i don't remember if i touched her dead body. i don't think i did or i could've.)

september - lola loleng, my mom's favorite aunt as far as my perception is concerned

october - tito eddy, eduardo (my mom's fourth brother, my funniest uncle and one of my favorites, but i'm not so sure of this month)


oh, and for each month, one of them celebrates a birthday, like my mom was born and had died in august, like my grandmother. see how close their numbers are: mom's bday was the 27th and she died on the 3rd, a quarter after midnight. my grandmother was born on the 2nd and died on the 27th.

funny how we cope with death, taking consolation in numbers and trivia.