Remembering Papa

Papa passed away last Tuesday, the 23rd, around 9 in the morning. I was able to fly up to Florida the next day to be with my family for the funeral on Thursday (on what was their 63rd wedding anniversary) and for some of the traditional sitting shiva over the next three days. It was wonderful to be with my family, terrible for it to be under these circumstances, fun to watch old home videos that Papa had taken of all kinds of major events (birthdays, dance recitals, first gymnastics classes) and that we had seen many times over the years, strange to be with my Nana without Papa, and so sad to hear his voice on those recordings, announcing with pride the day I graduated from kindergarten, documenting with such love the lives of his family. I was amazed at how strong my family is, especially my aunts and cousins who had spent so much time with Papa in the hospital these past few horrible weeks. I wish I had photos of him to put up here ... he was such a sweet, kind, funny man. I´m back in Honduras now, and it´s strange to think how much the world has changed in just a few days. But it´s back to school tomorrow, no more fancy showers or delicious food. My Auntie´s homemade fudge has been a big hit with the gringos here already!!