Missing You...

On my way to work the other day, I started crying.

I'll see if I can even get through this post (since I'm typing it at work...don't worry, it's during my lunch break) without breaking down.

As the holidays roll around, I think a lot about my family...mostly about those members that aren't here this year. Which gets me thinking about my grandmother (the Cuban one) and all the sadness that she has had to endure in her life...loss of son-in-law, husband and daughter, in that order.

All three of these family members left us while I was away at college, Chino left my freshman year (heart attack at the poker table...cigar in mouth, cards in hand), Pipo left my junior year (old age) and Illa left my first year of grad school (brain aneurism).

I have a lot of regrets when it comes to my family...I didn't even make it to Chino's funeral and I couldn't even speak to Pipo since my Spanish sucks so much. My poor grandmother had to watch my aunt die from a brain hemorrage, and she had to scream out the front door for help because she didn't know what to do...this one really chokes me up, I can't imagine what the poor lady went through...that sense of helplessness and fear.

I know that they were all Catholics, but my biggest regret is never making sure that they understood fully what Christ had done for us, securing a place for us with the Father in Heaven

These beloved members of my family will never even meet my wife, and I can only hope that the Savior welcomed them through the gates...where there is no more pain or sorrow.

Merry Christmas