TweetSo if someone says to us, by word or by action, “You should be over that by now,” we can recall the words from the Talmud: “Judge no one before you have been in his place.” When people ask how many kids I have, I always say three children and pretty soon, the question goes on details like “are...
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Tweet Luijoe meadow somewhere in the North, where his grandparents live today A few years ago a highly rated and popular TV magazine contacted my husband and I to share our painful experience and grief recovery for their “Holy Week” feature. The theme centered on “The Seven Last Words” and our story will...
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Tweet “What if?” “If only…” and “Why Me?” are words that ring true when faced with unimaginable loss. A traumatic death shatters the world. It is often a loss that does not make sense. Life is not always fair and that sometimes bad things happen to good people. The sudden death leaves us...
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TweetShielding myself from the scorching sun, I clutched on to my umbrella and looked down towards the smooth bermuda grass. My eyes linger to the engraved markings staring back at me , “Luijoe, my angel”. “Mom are those weeds?” a daughter pointed to the tiny yellow flowers dotted at the top of his...
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Tweet The loss of a child is unlike any other loss. I don’t know how I lived through the pain but I did…it’s been 11 years. My good friend, Cathy Babao-Guballa probably knows this by now. Nine years ago, in the midst of my deepest sadness as I grappled with the pain of my son’s death, I came across a...
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Tweet My husband watching a boy picking sea shells by the beach front in Boracay. I knew he was thinking of Luijoe. A few days before our trip to Boracay, I wrote a A letter to my son in heaven on his Angel date, May 27. This recent vacation to Boracay affirms that our son is closer to us than ever before. He has been beside us...
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Tweet“I am you; you are ME. You are the waves; I am the ocean. Know this and be free, be divine.” –Sri Sathya Sai Baba The weather is lovely in Boracay. I thought the remnants of Typhoon Odeng would still be felt here. But God is good. The sun is up, The blue skies and the soft calm breeze lift our spirits. This short...
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TweetDear Luijoe, It’s been eleven years . Eleven years today… without seeing your impish smile, without receiving wild flowers with a note “I love you so very much, mama” without your gentle reminder to pray without your lectures on parenting without your crazy jokes without pinching your handsome...
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TweetMy friend Cathy sent me this beautiful article , Butterfly Miracles, from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving and Recovery by Jeanne Wilhelm. I know some of you who read my blog lost someone in their lives. I often use the butterfly as a symbol of hope . There is always a chance of a new life out there. This is what I often...
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TweetEaster Day will always remind me that my son is just around me. I believe he is somewhere living an eternal life. This station of the cross painting is also a reminder that I am comforted by many “St. John’s” in my life. In those temporary moments of deep sadness, these two memories bring me...
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Tweet“When we are unable to find tranquillity within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.” Francois de La Rochefoucauld Discovering a tranquil peace at Luijoe meadow leaves me energized and comforted. Luijoe’s grandparents named this “Luijoe meadow”, a playground to frolic at their mountain...
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TweetA sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty We are four sisters. Two (Myrna and Lorna) are based in the United States and two of us (Belen and myself) reside in Manila. I was supposed to join Lorna as an immigrant by now but I declined the application papers in 1986. Myrna (the sister...
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TweetHe evoked in me a capacity for love I did not know I had. Those feelings did not die with him, nor will they, I pray, die with me.- Gordon Livingston A tribute to Luijoe’s 10th angel year (May 27, 2000 – May 27, 2010) Parents who have lost a child speak of the “zero point”. Our lives are divided into the time...
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TweetI often wonder how he would look like today. The young man as he often called himself even at 6 years old, is supposed to be an incoming college freshman, the last of my children to be in school. Would he have been taller than my husband? Would he have the same gleaming smile? Will he still throw me kisses and give me a...
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TweetI feel ambivalent towards Erap. I neither like nor dislike him. My feelings has something to do with the memories of my little boy. My 6 year old son adored Erap. Luijoe thought the world of the former president. Luijoe yelled at the top of his voice that Erap was the smartest president in the whole world, in a jumpacked...
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Tweet“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?” I can easily relate to one of the last words of a dying Christ. Who has not, at some dark hour, cried out to the heavens in anguish and pain and wondered if indeed we have been cursed and abandoned by God ? Image taken from Luijoe’s prayer book The image of a dying...
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Tweet“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw I caught the George Bernard Shaw quote a few days ago and it made me reflect back on my life. It is almost 10 years that my son passed away. I do not recognize myself from the person I was in the past. I am more confident....
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TweetI brought a child into the world and thought my life was complete. I bowed my head and thanked the Lord for giving this child to me. My dreams were of the future and of how my child would be, Of how he would run and play games like hide-and-seek and always run back to me. How could I live my life without my child – How...
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My grief journey culled from edited 2006-2010 blog entries are now converted to an ebook format and "Print on demand". Read story behind the ebook.
Touched by an Angel e-book is now available for purchase. For inquiries and reservations, please call Vee Press sales department at +632-712.9156 ext. 350 or email sales@vibalfoundation.org
This is about me ( a Filipina mom) and my journey to a "new normal" after the death of Luijoe , my beautiful 6 year old son.
Recovery is a work in progress.... read more?
Celebrating love , life and experience at the Lady Gaga Born This Way Ball
Bullying in Philippine Schools
A hug is a handshake from the heart
A letter to my daughters. Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough
Being romantic in Batanes : A time to celebrate the beauty, gift, and the blessing of enduring love.
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