Clare Henney: December 2011

My family and I went on a trip to the cemetery yesterday to visit the grave of my grandfather (and of several other relatives who were nearby).  We weren’t able to find his grave the last time we went to the memorial park because the place was too large and for some reason, my sisters and I just could not remember where exactly the grave was even if we were there when he was buried.  Luckily for us, my mom’s sisters and brother were there to help us find the grave.  It turned into a reunion of sorts, with us having a picnic by our dearly departed(s).  We ended up staying there for a few hours that afternoon.  I didn’t really know this side of the family that well, so it was nice to be able to see and hang out with them for a bit.

Believe it or not, this was the first time that I found out the name of my maternal grandfather’s parents.  My grandmother and grandfather (Nanay and Tatay, as we called them) have been separated way before I was even born and my grandfather had remarried (well, sort of, I’m not quite sure) twice.  He had kids in both relationships — hence the relatives that I do not know or have just recently met. According to one of my aunts, my grandfather had a total of 16 kids.  My goodness Tatay, ikaw na (my grandfather was a very handsome man, I really shouldn’t be surprised)!

I’m moving out of the topic.  It’s the first time that I found out that one of my uncles is named after my grandfather’s father.  It’s also the first time I found out that we’re Mendozas in my grandfather’s side of the family as well.