Goodbye Amy...

I received the following email (see below) and the above flyer yesterday.

I last saw Amy in our last high school reunion in San Diego in 2006. She looks fine and bubbly and news from the grapevine is that she is recuperating and in remission from breast cancer. I did not spoke or talk about it. The important thing was that she was there, obviously happy to see her classmates. To me, that is all that matters...

So how do we cope when someone we know, someone we love, someone we are close to pass on to the "great divide"? Obviously we feel sad and regretful of what could have been. We could have spent more time, laugh more and shared life more. Death and mortality teaches us that. When the end (at least in this life, as we know it!) is near, when we felt near death or have had a brushed with death; life becomes more fuller and colourful. When our lives passed before us in that single instant, we tend to take stock of our lives and focus on what we want our lives to be. What we want to cross out in our "bucket list"... what we want to accomplish and experience.

Amy, (far right with glasses) seated beside Noi at the last reunion. Photo courtesy of Maria.

So Amy's death (and the death of so many friends and relatives), teaches us to "seize the day" everyday. Carpe diem!

Edna's email:

"Hello Batch Mates,

It has been a week since we met our batch mates and friends, when we paid our last respects to Amy. We shared our love and grief with one another. The following were present: Janet, Beth, Ruby and husband, Lota, Jean, Virginia and husband, Kim and Ben, Butch and wife, Ver, Alan Bravo and wife, and Chato de Castro. (My apologies to some that I probably missed).

Memorial service is a time for mourning but we know in our heart that this is also time of joy. Amy ran the race, and fought the fight. Now she is resting with the Lord and will receive her crown of glory from the Savior that she loved and served.

We learned from listening to her family and close friends that her battle with pain and illness is over. We know that she is now in a better place. We know that she is finally at rest after a long time of battling sickness.

After the memorial service, some of our batch mates went to Chow King to continue our catching up on how each other were doing; because we know that after we separated from each other who knows when we will have the time to see each other and sit down and talk.

We decided that we need to keep in touch more often on better circumstance. Our first OCNHS Batch 74 get together will be on September 20, 2008. We just want to sit down and talk awhile, and also to set aside this time in memory of Amy."

I know how "busy" your lives are, with work and family commitments. We only ask that you spent this day, 20 September 2008; with us. Take a leave of absence from whatever you are doing, rest and recharge with your batch mates and friends... and finally say goodbye to Amy!