Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean "I'll miss you"
Until you meet again.
Sure saying goodbye is a part of life
but it’s defnitely something I wasn’t ready
for. You might be thinking, oh he's talking about saying goodbye to 2008 and
hello to the new year. And you may be correct. Well, partially.
Two-thousand eight was full of good memories (especially because of Senior Year)
and I’m sad to see them go, but i'm not just talking about that.
It started with my sisters wedding, seeing her walk down the
aisle at her wedding brought tears of joy into my eyes.
I couldn't have been any happier for her, until the end of this year came.
As 2008 ended I realized that my time with her was coming to an end and
it only became more of a reality as it moved closer. Thanksgiving
passed and Christmas arrived and so did the thoughts of her departure.
I'm not going to see my "Ate" anymore as much as I do.
And as soon as you know it, the new year had come... and guess what?
a new beginning had arrived as well, at least for my sister.
New Years day was probably the saddest family party I've gone to.
Seeing my whole family cry as they said their final goodbyes to the newlyweds.
It was especially hard to see Macey and Ate say their goodbyes, they could not stop crying
because they knew it had actually come to this, the end. They simply looked
at each other and tears ran down their faces. Seeing Ate hug
her second "little sister" only made the goodbye even more special.
The first of January passed and the 3rd finally came. The day that
my sister and her new husband would actually leave for good to
their new home in Massachusetts…had actually come.
I woke up to Eric and Tita Rowena greeting everyone in the house…
But most importantly I woke up knowing this would be the hardest day I’d ever go through.
We ate our final breakfast with my sister and Paul and after... it was finally
the time. Everyones mood seemed to go from happy to sad. We all stood in
the street waiting for them to leave and it was time. Paul said, “lets go,”
and we all looked at my sister and immediately the tears ran down our faces.
The first person to say Bye was my mom and never have I heard both of them
cry like they did that saturday morning. It was the cry only a mother and her
daughter could ever share. It was a cry of pain, of loss, of hope, and at the same time of
joy. My dad of course followed after, making sure not to show the pain he really
felt, covering it up with jokes. Following was Tita Rowena and never have I seen her cry like she did
that day. Following was Eric with a sad look in his face making sure not to let himself get too sad. And after was Kimmie,
they hugged for the longest time making sure to not let go because any extra second only meant she'd be here a little longer. My older sisters words still stick in my mind
as she told Kimmie, "You're the NEW Ate now, be good, they look up to you now,
take care of them... I won’t be here anymore to do it." And I didnt really cry until that sentence registered in my head. So I hugged my sister last making sure to squeeze as hard as
I could because this was it. After all of that, she walked into
Pauls truck crying hysterically saying her final goodbye to the only home
shes known. And it was complete. My sister had finally drove off with her
husband to their new life in Massachusetts. The tears didnt end their. I walked back
into the house where I heard my mom crying. NEVER HAVE I HEARD SUCH A CRY. I heard
my mom cry like a mother who had just lost her daughter. Of course she was in the
arms of Tita Rowena comforting her that it would be okay...
That was the hardest day I've ever been through. Saying goodbye to my oldest sister
was unbareable. Sure, she promised to move back after a while. But my oldest sister,
who has been there for me since birth had actually... left. She had actually left to her new life. The bird finally flew from the nest and its hard to accept. As much as I keep
my feelings in its so hard to realize that my sister is no longer
here, living with us in the house. I guess it won’t hit
us until we are by ourselves noticing that there is a missing
piec e to our little family puzzle. When I come back on the weekends I won’t see her at home
and that scares me...
Times ARE moving forward and nothing lasts forever. AND thats whats so hard
to accept. I really do miss my sister and I wish she was still here,
but I guess the memories are what we have left. Me and kimmie will
have to tuff it out here in California without our oldest sister, our "ATE," our one and only... ATE.
I miss you Ate, and you don’t know how much we miss you.
I wish you all the best in your new life with Paul out there in Massachusetts.
You will be TRULY AND GREATLY MISSED. I LOVE YOU.
AND here it goes, as tears run down my face… SO LONG, GOODBYE.
(but see you soon…)
paz con tigo,
MARC
