on january 12, 2010, my grandmother was laid to rest. here ive reworked this blog entry to incorporate my cousins tootsie and paolo’s own reflections, which i then shared as eulogy to the family at the funeral service that day.

This is my grandmother, Dolores Golez Padero.

She never liked being called a Lola; she preferred to be called Mommy Lolet.  And that was how we knew her, Mommy Lolet, a woman who personified generosity, selflessness and unconditional love.  She was the real Miss Congeniality and lived a fruitful 86 years of her life with us, her family.

For as long as we apos could remember, she had been thin and frail-looking but she had the energy and spunk of an adolescent. She was feisty and looked after her grandchildren while the parents were away at work, running after us, up and down the stairs as we played our war games, feeding us with champorado and pancakes for breakfast and corned beef for lunch.

Her dedication to her family was insatiable.  Mommy’s constantly surrounded with photos of relatives here and abroad.  She loved receiving calls from her sistew from amewika or relatives in manila. Mommy would prepare little surprises and tell us things like “go look under my desk, there’s something for you,” and we’d find trike or cab fare ready for us.  She’d often write letters in long hand to family and in this age of emails, she’d mail hallmark cards that kept the post office in business for years. To Mommy Lolet, the family was her life.

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