This past weekend, my family and I said "goodbye" to my aunt ("Tita" in Tagalog) after her long and courageous battle with cancer. As you may have read in my last entry, she died peacefully, and surrounded by those who loved her, finally free from the pains that her disease had inflicted on her.

The church was packed, and many a friend and relative were on hand to pay their last respects to her. At the memorial service it turns out she touched so many people's lives with all of the "small things" that she did - everything from driving people around, helping them with chores, keeping up with old friends, etc. More things than most people ever do.  She lived her life that way, always helping out people.

Amongst many fond memories of her being shared, mine was of one while I was growing up, the one that involves a little blue Chargers football team duffel bag, a small, nondescript bag, with the team's lightning bolt and helmet on one side. I remember this cause as a child, I thought the bag looked cool and wanted one. Since she lived in San Diego, it wasn't all that often that we visited her and the rest of the family, but when we did, her house was usually the main hub of  all activities in and around S.D. When I told her that I liked it, she said, "okay, next time you come down here, I'll get you one."  A little time went by since that visit, but low and behold, sure enough, the next time I was down in San Diego, there was this little blue Chargers duffel bag waiting for me, courtesy of Tita Becky. Heck, I had even forgot that I wanted one, but she remembered and made sure I got it. It was the small things like this that made her the loving person that she was. She was always thoughtful, and it was something that carried her throughout her life.

To me, she'll always be Tita Becky. The aunt who was the youngest of her brothers and sisters, always had your back, was in-tune with how us "youngin's" were growing up, and just plain fun to be around. She was outspoken, had a great loud laugh, and quick to joke around, and always showed you that she loved you in small, precious ways, even without saying it.

They say that funerals are for the living, and I truly believe it. For there we were, a couple hundred of us, mourning the loss of a beautiful soul on a bright, sunny Saturday morning. Afterwards, we all went to a buffet restaurant where the entire family reminisced, laughed, and joked around (as usual). That was then followed by all of us going over to her house, where all the "young" cousins (myself included) continued with the jovial banter, the talks. Yet this time, it was us looking after the next generation of Palma kids, our nieces and nephews, just as she did while we were growing up. It was nice to be around my family again, as sadly, the last few times we've met have been over funerals, but once together, it becomes a party. The party that never really stops per say, but just gets put on hold till next time. Plus, it was equally nice to be at Tita Becky's house, where at any moment I kinda expected her to come around the corner hearing her laugh at our terrible jokes and tell us all that it was time to eat. I'll definitely miss her energy and presence, her joy and laughter, and her love for life and her family.

I knew her my entire life, and it was an honor being her nephew through all my years. I'll see you again someday soon Tita. Till then, rest in peace :)