Grandaunt's passing

Dear Logan,

As I told you that Ah Gung and Ah Po's trip was cut short, it was because of your grandaunt's passing (Ah Gung's older sister).  We received the news when we're in Los Angeles, bright early at 3:30 a.m.  I received a phone call from Macau about this news.  It was definitely a shock, and has changed the mood and the stress level for the remaining of our trip in LA and in Vegas.

Grandaunt has no children, and we're her only family.  Before Ah Gung and Ah Po came to visit, they have tried to persuade Grandaunt to install some kind of Life Alert system.  She lived alone, and after her last fall in her apartment without anyone knowing, Ah Gung took her to the hospital, and really tried to prevent a similar situation from happening again.  Unfortunately, Grandaunt didn't want to have the Life Alert system and barely turned on the cell phone that Ah Gung got her.  That's exactly what happened to her.  She fell in her apartment and nobody knew about it.

Ah Gung was stuck in a very difficult situation.  Should he cancel the trip right away and fly back to Macau?  Should Grandaunt #2 just go ahead to get things done in Macau?  Let's just say Ah Gung and her two sisters have a very complicated family history.  We tried to call the airline to see if we could change their flights, but it was Sunday and the reservations line was closed.  When we finally got through, we didn't have the e-ticket number with us to change the reservations, since the information is at home and not with us on our trip.

We struggled back and forth with the ticket number, calling Macau back and forth,  being in Las Vegas and not having all the paperwork at hand.  Finally, we're able to change the plane tickets.  Ah Gung and Ah Po would leave the same time as Uncle Carlos and Auntie Mena on Saturday.  They originally were going to stay until the end of the month, so that I could go back to work and not worried about childcare, as your brother doesn't start school until Sept 1.  But now that they're leaving earlier, I had to extend my vacation.  Luckily, work was understanding and granted the extension.

I didn't think anyone fully enjoyed the rest of the trip after knowing of Grandaunt's passing.  We're all stressing about the plane tickets, details of the funeral, finances, yet trying to have fun.  I don't think anyone had the time to properly mourn the death of my aunt.

Now that everyone is gone, they will be busy preparing for the memorial service and the funeral.  Luckily, Granduncle and Grandaunt #7 were assisting and representing us, in conjunction with the effort of Grandaunt #2 (Ah Gung's other sister).  I wish I could do more to help, physically and financially, but I can't.

I hope everything goes well.  This is a sudden and stressful situation.

You never had the chance to meet your Grandaunt, but maybe you will see her in heaven.  If you see her, tell her I said "Hi" and thank her for all the support she gave me during my college years.  I owed my college education to her.

Love you,
Mommy