The Gift Of Donna
So it’s been a little over a week since Donna has gone home (as I would like to call it). Ofcourse I don’t have any delusions that I will feel better about this anytime soon. In fact, I do believe that things will never be the same again. Now, I don’t necessarily mean that things will always be sad from now on, but perhaps it will be for a long time. Things happen as they should. I believe that. And that gives me hope that in the future, things will be sunshiny again, just like Donna. She was a little, bouncing ball of sunshine.
I cried again yesterday. In my car, on the way home, in traffic. It was so melodramatic. Like it was ripped out of a scene from a Vilma Santos movie. Emote. As in. And then in Teriyaki Boy I had dinner by myself and almost cried in front of my California Maki! Almost. The thought of crying by myself with chopsticks in my hand just made me laugh instead. Iyak. Tawa. Iyak. Tawa. Ay baliw…
Anyway… So I promised people that I would post the videos I made of Donna’s pictures which were shown during her funeral. It was actually very difficult to finish all of them. I remember after I finished the first one and went to sleep, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling so cold and nervous. The entire ordeal was just so emotionally draining because looking at all those images was at once a reminder of the happy times, and a slap in the face that you will never have any of those moments with her again here on this earth. So the challenge is to find the grace to be thankful instead. To see not that we lost her, but that we had her. That we were fortunate enough to know and experience her beautiful spirit in our lives, even for just a while.
Our Precious Little Girl
Eternal Child
We Love You, Donna
Happy Worker
Sunshine
True Love
Angel
October 15th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
sorry for your loss man… my condolences to her family and friends…
October 15th, 2006 at 11:51 pm
I hate you choob! And i thought i wouldn’t be holding back tears anymore in the office! I guess it serves me right for blogging during office hours. By the way, i cant see the items youve attached here. maybe you could burn me a DVD so i can EMOTE ala Vilma in the secure confines of my bedroom.
October 17th, 2006 at 5:19 am
you know what i regret the most, choob? it’s the fact that i didn’t even get to hug her. and i hate myself for that. sometimes i wish she’d visit me but of course it’s nic who deserves that visit. sana lang wag matakot si nic hehehe
October 17th, 2006 at 10:05 am
Hey, Derek. Thanks for the comment!
Pouty, maybe your office network blocks youtube content? Or maybe your browser is just acting up? Or maybe, maybe, maybe… I also think you’re more of an Ate Shawi than an Ate Vi. I will burn you a DVD copy.
Hi, Sher! I know how you feel. For almost a year, I would pass by her office on my way home atleast twice a week. And I never even bothered to make plans with her to meet up even just for coffee. I always thought we would have time for it in the future. I never imagined that she would be gone.
Bakit mo kami iniwan, Donna?! BAKET???
Haha. Exag. Mag-drama ba daw nang ganon?
October 17th, 2006 at 10:26 am
hey choob! it’s a great thing what you did here. galing the video that ends with center or centre…she’s really in the center of most pics…i mean we can all put our own meaning to that. grabe nakakamiss sobra. this is still too crazy.
October 18th, 2006 at 4:41 am
thanks for doing these choob.
preserves a lot of memories for a lot of people. cant help but watch them over and over again.
October 19th, 2006 at 2:47 am
Hi, K! Yeah I noticed that, too. I don’t think it means anything tho. I think she just always wanted to be in the center because she was small. Hehe. But I do love her pics. She was just such an animated person and you could see that in many of her photos.
Hi, Nic. You’re welcome. I’m glad I was able to do this. Not just for Donna, but for all of us as a testament to how beautiful and wonderful she was and still is.
October 22nd, 2006 at 10:26 am
hehe…i meant like center of people’s lives. =) but i guess your explanation can work too =)
October 28th, 2006 at 2:52 am
I wasn’t able to say goodbye to Dons for the last time at her funeral since I was down with a bad case of the flu and the last thing i want is to be a walking Infector Gaching-et (parang Inspector Gadget but pang sipon at ‘hatsing’). Anyway, you put together a really really beautiful video, I myself had my own ‘Crying Lady’moment, at hinding hindi na kailangang mag-Vicks sa mata! I know that Dons and I were never close, but I seriously love her just the same. It’s crazy (maybe), unbelievable (and sadly unstoppable)…Here’s to the good, unforgettable memories we all shared with our dear friend, Donna. May God Bless you and keep you safe in His arms.
October 30th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
hey choob, it’s tiff. i know we never really talked much in ateneo but i just wanted to say thanks for doing this. i wasnt able to speak or see dons in her last hours, and though i want to come home to visit her where she lies, it’s just not possible. looking at these videos makes me see the donna i love and used to know..thanks so much. i know she’s in heaven where she belongs. i feel your pain and i’ve cried my eyes out….thanks for this.. all the best, choob. tiff
November 13th, 2006 at 8:35 pm
Hi, Jolei! Thanks. One of the most wonderful things about Donna is that she seemed to touch every person that she met in her own little way. Whether or not you were close to her, you just couldn’t help but feel some sort of special relationship with her. She’ll truly be missed.
Hi, Tiff. I’m glad that you liked the videos. Looking at all the pictures, you can’t help but be reminded of how beautiful her spirit is. It’s going to be a long process, but I do hope that each day that goes by brings you more and more peace as you (and all of us, as well) struggle to come to terms with this great loss. Our Donna’s in a good place right now, smiling down on all of us.
May 4th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
hi. i’m not even sure how i got to this page, but i’m glad i found it (or ‘it found me’).
donna and i were real close in gradeschool, but we lost touch after graduation. but her passing left me with a tremendous sense of loss, one which a wasn’t even sure i ‘deserved’ to feel. but i’m not about to over-analyze that.
THANK YOU for posting this and for your beautiful words! here’s to remembering donna, and never forgetting that life is short indeed! =)
May 11th, 2007 at 4:08 am
Hi, Gel! It’s interesting what you said about “deserving to feel” about this tragic event. Because I was also questioning myself wether I should have grieved as much as I did. I think I was telling myself that I had no right to feel as sad as Nic or Donna’s family. But we can’t really tell ourselves what to feel, can we?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I feel a sense of happiness in knowing that as early as gradeschool, Donna was already touching lives.