My Grandpa is a fighter and always have been. He fought for
6 longs months of pain with barely any food in his system. I wished I could’ve
taken the pain away. I wished I could’ve cure him. Unfortunately, on October 3rd,
2015 around 1AM, my Grandpa left us. I remember I was at Becky’s house just
chillin with my friends when I saw the message in our family group chat on
facebook. I read it once, read it twice, read it three times, and then read it
over and over again some more. I completely froze. I knew this day was going to
come, but when it actually happened, I didn’t know how to react, how to feel.
First time in my life that someone so close to me past away. My mind felt
completely blank for a few minutes. Becky came and sat beside me and asked me
if I was okay. I showed her the message and completely broke down. I feel like
such a cry baby because I always cry in front of them, but home-girl can’t help
it lol. Anyways, I’m thankful for having such caring friends knowing that I
couldn’t be there with my NC family right then, right there. That Saturday was a gloomy day. I was home all
day with my mom and every phone call that she was on, she cried and cried and
cried. And ya already know my cry baby ass was in bed crying all day. >,<
But, that Saturday my sister, brother-in-law, niece, & aunt came over to
have dinner with my mom and I. We facetimed my sisters, grandma, & dad in
NC. It was so sad. My grandma and dad was crying over facetime and that
completely broke my heart also.
Definitely wasn’t going to miss my Grandpa’s funeral, so
booked a flight for a week to NC on the 21st of October. Even though
it was for my Grandpa’s funeral, it was great to see my entire family again. Even
some family members that I haven’t seen in over 10 years. If you’ve never
experienced a traditional Hmong funeral, then you wouldn’t understand how
tiring it can be. But I did it all for you Grandpa. My first time experiencing the entire funeral
from the beginning ‘til the end. We had a little session of speeches and a
slideshow presentation and that was probably when I cried the most. I was so
sad. Everyone was sad. At the burial, I still couldn’t believe that you were
gone Grandpa. Looking at your face for the very last time, putting flowers on
top of your coffin for you, and putting dirt over your grave made me wanted to
take you out of the coffin and hope with all that I have that you would wake up
again.
After restless nights, I came back to Minnesota. It’s always
a bittersweet feeling leaving NC. I miss my family. But most of all, I miss you
Grandpa. I always have tears in my eyes or cry when I think about you Grandpa.
It’s been a month since you’ve been gone and the aching pain is still here. And
I believe it will always be here. Nothing or no one will ever heal the
heartache of not having you here with us anymore. Even though you’re not here
with us physically, you will forever be in our hearts. I love you Grandpa. We
all love you, Yawg. I hope that you are doing well wherever you are. Come visit
me in my dreams whenever you can. I love seeing you.
Last but not least, I want to thank my family for being so
loving, caring, and supportive. We are in this together. One love. Friends and everyone
else who helped me get through this, thank you also. Every word, every text,
every phone call, every like and comment on social media, and every
heart-warming hug means so, so much to me. To know that I have people who cares
when I’m going through one of the toughest times, means the world to me. Ya
know who ya are.
love & miss you grandpa <3 |
stepmom, daddy, & mother with the girls |
hmong vue dinner |
rest in paradise, grandpa <3 |
papa bear <3 |
stay strong grandma, we all love you <3 |