Happy Birthday to my Sister in Heaven

It’s been more than a year since you left but it still feels like yesterday. I cannot forget my last birthday greeting to you because I have no idea that it would be the last. 

“When I look back our childhood days, all I remember is the moments that we’ve shared, we are so opposite in so many things, but at the end of the day, we are sisters and we are friends. Neither of us is perfect but our imperfections make us close. Happy 40th birthday! Don’t regret the things that you haven’t been able to do. Forty is the time to refresh and start anew. Don’t worry about what you couldn’t achieve. Look forward to the dreams in which you believe. Don’t forget to make a bucket list and do things one step at a time” 

That was two years ago but I vividly remember that you immediately messaged me when you saw this post on your Facebook because you don’t want me to reveal your age. I know that part of you wanted me to delete the greeting but I didn’t, I just untagged you. I even told you the famous line “Be proud that you are getting old because it is the privilege denied to many”

Nine months after, God called you home. It was so sudden and it is a struggle to accept. The moment that you left, our family chain is broken and our life has to go on but it was never been the same. I can no longer count how many times you appeared in my dreams, in those dreams you came back, alive and kicking. I really wish you are here because it is a challenge to move forward knowing that you won’t be part of my future. 

Today is your second birthday in heaven and your birthday brings laughter, tears, and memories that will never fade. I’ll forever treasure the memories of growing up with you. I’ll cherish the times we had like our travel adventures and family events. You know what, going to Valenzuela now is not fun at all because reality hits me more. 

It is sad, knowing that you are not here anymore but you’ll always be remembered. I badly miss you more than you’ll ever know. I miss my sister, my friend, and my prayer warrior. Happy birthday in heaven Ate. 

It’s hard to turn the page when you know someone won’t be in the next chapter but the story must go on. -Thomas Wilder

Grief is not a disorder, a disease, or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical, and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve. - Earl Grollman 

It doesn’t matter how fast you move on in life. What matters is you have to keep moving regardless of pace.