Mi Abuelo

These past few weeks have had their highs and their lows. A couple of days ago, I came back from a trip to Italy, a place I have wanted to visit for a long time. I’ll talk more about that in another post. The entire trip was a high; I really enjoyed it.

It was when I came back that the lows hit. So I flew back in Thursday night from Italy, and my parents went to LAX to pick me up. Mom was telling me that she almost trailed to Guatemala because her father, my grandfather, had fallen ill. She said that she decided not to go because he was doing a lot better. That put my mind at ease. My grandfather has had a rough year health wise, but I was glad to hear he was okay.

Friday came and so did a series of events that made it a very long day for many in my family. My mom had gotten a call Friday afternoon that my grandfather had fallen extremely ill and that he was only given about 48 hours to live. My mom, understandably, was an emotional mess. I was at Long Beach at the time and dropped what I was doing to be with her. I knew I had to be Rational Oscar because emotions were high and maybe some rationality would smooth things out at the house. When I saw my mom, I consoled her, as did everyone else in the family. I then booked her flight so she could be in Guatemala, a flight set for midnight that very night. So then she packed her luggage, got her documents in order, and made sure people knew she was coming to Guatemala. We had spoken to my aunt who agreed to pick my mom up at the Guatemala City airport and drive her to her hometown about three hours away. My mom called me when she got to Houston, where she had a slight layover. The next morning I get a call from my dad that initiated many calls thereafter.

As it turned out, my mom and my aunt missed each other at the airport and my mom, who grew impatient, hitched a ride with a family that was headed to a city near my mom’s hometown. It was intense because for three hours we did not know where my mother was. Insert hundreds of calls here. So finally my dad hears from my uncle and tells him my mother made it there safely. Not shortly after that, I get a call that my grandfather had passed away at the hospital. This meant, my mom was not able to see him before he passed, which was very disheartening. My mom and my uncle get to the hospital get there to find out he is still alive; his mouth was still moving. There must’ve been some type of clerical error somewhere. My mom was able to say goodbye to him and he died shortly after.

I like to think my grandfather was holding out to say goodbye to his little girl, his only daughter and youngest child. It was comforting to know that she was able to do this, because it is not something many get to do for their loved ones who have left. Needless to say, that I was a mess on Saturday. I reflected all day and my emotions were high. The outside world shut down in my eyes. Sunday was better, had coffee, lunch and dinner with family and friends, which kept my mind busy.

Monday it was back to work and back to business. Working, especially with students, keeps one’s mind busy. I hear my mom is doing better too, which helps.

On that note, I hope my grandfather is resting in peace away from pain and suffering.

Goodbye to Fernando Miró, my abuelo. He was someone I really did admire.