I was asked by my mom to prepare this eulogy for my dear Grandma. I am not sure if I will be able to give her justice but i will try my best.
Let me start by telling you how she came to be called "Grandma". This was all because of me. Back in Nursery, my best friend Margot, called her lola "Grandma"; being best friends we had to call our lolas Grandma. She liked it! She felt "sosyal" daw. All my cousins started calling her Grandma too. I am glad that all her apo sa tuhod calls her the same.
She was a wife, mother, sister, and friend. As a wife she held her family together the best way she knew how. Despite everything that has happened, she took care of lolo till the end. She was a mother, not only to her children, but also to her children's friends as well. Our house in Kamias was open to everybody! And it was fun growing up.. At least for me and my brother. This is exactly why, over the past few days, we have seen such an outpour of love, through prayers and song. As a sister, she looked after her siblings even when they had families of their own. She and Lola Mameng would meet up in Baclaran and share some chit chat; we would sometime visit Lolo Rod and Lolo Ben just to catch up. As a friend, she was a good listener and adviser. Madaming chismis na alam yan, pero di nya chinichismis sa iba, sa akin lang. Haha!
To me, she was all of these. Who would believe I would be so luck? She took care of me and my brother, Rommel, while our parents were at work. Grandma named me, did you know that? I still remember the time I asked her "How did you come to name me Rowena? Saka bakit isa lang name ko? Classmates kong iba dalawa ang names?" I was looking forward to a Disney-like story, when she nonchalantly responds "Ah, nakita ko sa jeep yung pangalang Rowena. Naisip ko maganda yun ah!" 😁😁😁 I guess this is the reason I would look for my name inside a jeepney and chuckle everytime i see it. I laugh when i find Rommel's name next to mine hehehe!
As a kid, i got teased a lot for being too big for the average Filipino child. The kids on our street got a taste of her "dugong Muslim" when she got tired of me crying and playing alone by telling them "Mataba ang apo ko kasi masarap pagkain namin. Eh kayo??" She was my hero! I didn't care for playing with kids my age -- I had my Grandma. Who needs them? She loved to sew. She made all my Barbies their own dresses. She was also my #1 fan and critique. She would put on a cassette tape of Lea Salonga songs to put me to sleep. She makes me sing everyday as practice.
Every Saturday morning, I would accompany her to Nepa QMart for our weekly ration of food, and we'd pass by this creek along K-9th and she'd say she will jump. As a kid, i would cry and cry and ask her not to. When I turned into an adolescent, I realized they were empty threats so I would now respond differently: "sige gran, tulak pa kita" We'd both laugh and continue walking -- i still held on tightly to her hand, just in case. I will always remember the first few days of commuting alone. She was like a detective! Hiding behind lampposts, waiting sheds-- making sure we boarded the right jeepney and crossed the street safely. There was even a time when heavy rains poured and i couldn't get a ride our usual route. My friend, Celeste, and i took a bus along EDSA to Kamias just to get home. However, we got stranded since no jeepneys would dare cross the flooded streets. We decided to walk. Little did we know that the flood was actually chest deep! Within a few minutes, Grandma was on the other end of the street and she brought all the tambays in K6 and did the unimaginable: she crossed the flood water for me and got me and my friend home safely.
She was my secret keeper. She knew who all my crushes were growing up (i used to tease her na crush din nya yung crush ko) and who my boyfriends were. If you passed the "Grandma test", we have a future! I believe she chose Zayd for me too.
I remember asking her about life during the second world war. She is always teary-eyed when i ask. Great grandpa got separated from them. It was only last year that she and Lola Mameng got their closure: the Japanese tunnel held a number of Filipino captives during the invasion.
When I had my daughters, she doted on them lovingly. Although a bit too frail to carry them (lalo si Chloe hehe) she always hugged and kissed them. She even taught them to sing "clap your feet" -- yes, hindi hands!! -- with matching actual clapping of the feet talaga! They still know how to do this. She was also Mohan's #1 patient. Her health improved with every visit, hug, kiss, love notes from him.
I have a lot more memories of her and i don't think today is enough to memorialize her in my words. For me, she was the best example of how a wife, a mother, a sister, and a friend should be. She taught me that in everything I do, it should be done out of love and respect; and it will come back to you a hundred or even a thousand fold. Look at us, here today, we are all part of that thousand fold. It is her love that brought us here, and bound us together.
Thank you Grandma for everything. I look forward to seeing your trademark salt n' pepper hair on the gates of Heaven -- just like when you would pick me up from school.
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In loving memory
Grandma Nene Bautista
January 12, 1932 - August 16, 2014
