Paalam, Nanay Nene

A beloved aunt passed away yesterday. Enriqueta Regidor, Nanay Nene to many of us, joined her Creator yesterday afternoon. She was 84 and would have been 85 this June (b. June 24, 1932) if she was not hit by a jeepney that fateful morning last week. Although Nanay Nene had her share of illnesses, these were not so serious and she was probably as healthy as she could be at her age. In fact, she was walking to church that morning, as she had done so many times, to hear the early morning Mass. She liked to go for the early Mass even on Sundays as she preferred the relative serenity of those Masses when there were usually less people in attendance.

Nanay Nene was very dear to us. Among my aunts I would say that probably I was closest to her. I always tagged along with her whenever I was in our hometown of Cabatuan, Iloilo. That meant going with her to the market, to church and even to the city for whatever was needed there. It was her who usually took us to the airport when we departed to return to Manila. It was her who told me a lot of stories about life that I will always treasure and will be sharing with our daughter. Nanay Nene was a teacher. She taught at Badiangan Elementary School until she retired almost 20 years ago. She was a great inspiration for me and perhaps I teach now because I wanted to be like her.  I even remember that I was the one who filed her papers with the Public School Teachers Association in Quezon City in order to expedite her getting her pension. She also loved animals and dogs in particular. Some of her dogs including Marlon and R.O. were probably the reasons why I love dogs.

I haven't visited our home in Iloilo since August 2010. That's almost 7 years ago. I have some personal reasons for not visiting there but I have always kept her in my heart and included her in prayers. I feel both sadness and guilt for not being able to see her one more time while she was living. I would have wanted her to see our Ally and we were planning to visit soon until her untimely passing. I imagine they would have hit it off at once. The photo above is my last photo with her taken in 2010. I would like to remember her as I saw her then.

Paalam Nanay Nene. Rest in peace. We know you are now with God in Heaven. You will be missed and we will always remember you as we continue in our journeys. 

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