Dad and just born Mel - 1977Saturday 5am. Call from mom. Dad's heart stopped beating at 3:15am. He was 58.
Chaos, no flights available to Lima. At the airport by 8am, begging to airlines for some help. Was lucky enough to find a nice airport official to help out, by noon I was "home".
The night before mom called to say how great he was doing, better and better every day, even though he was still at the hospital.
It was incredible to see so many people at the funeral, we counted over 40 flower arrangements, at least a couple of hundred people visiting us.
We put a photo of him killing a crocodile, a photo that I took back in 1997... it captures his personality perfectly. People looked at it and smiled, saying that they will always remember him like that.
It was sad, but so peaceful. I can't describe the amount of love I felt in that room, the truly caring hugs and kisses.
I knew that he was very loved, but never imagined the impact he had in so many lives. I wasn't aware of the amount of people who cared about us all... school friends, my first grade teacher! teachers from secondary school (high school), former bosses, neighbours, people who worked with dad over 20 years ago!
I can't describe the feeling of having so many people saying to me how much they learned from dad, how good he was, how fun and caring, how deep he touched their lives, so many people trying to help us in every way. So many anecdotes, people laughing instead of crying, colourful flowers all over. WOW. I hope that I can leave such a good mark when it is my time to go.
He was a good example of an honest man. He had so many chances to take advantage of others, and he chose honour over money. He took care of grandma until the last day he could, even after his chemotherapies he went to visit her and cheer her up. He worked in pain for over 10 years, and almost never complained. He never owed money to anyone, the little we have is ours. He was always proud of our achievements, even though he didn't always show it. He gave us everything he had and more, always worried about us.
I wish he stayed a little longer, I'm going to miss our talks.
Te quiero mucho papito, cuídanos desde el cielo.
