L-R: Liezl, *me*, Andro, Ivy, Maribel
The last time I saw any of my "original" college classmates was December of 2008, when I attended the funeral of Andro's father. It was a very bittersweet moment - sad because we were sharing sentiments because he lost his father, which allowed us to remember the people we lost in our lives, too; and we were happy because we were able to see each other as we were basically living lives of our own. That time we weren't into Facebook yet and not all of us had a page in Friendster, so it was very great that we could be together and share stories - recalling past memories in college, as well as talking about our present lives and some plans for the future.

I decided to share this picture for Nostalgia and Flashback Friday because yesterday, I learned that Ivy's mom passed away the other day. I am not sure if I can go to the funeral, but in case I can't, I decided to just share my sentiments here on my blog.

Ivy has been one of my early friends in college - we were seatmates and we were part of the same clique. Our college life was really about neverending projects and school reports, and since I live very far and Ivy lives quite near from the university, at times I would sleep in their house. Even if I am not part of their family, Ivy's mom (and her three sisters) welcomed me into their house. In the three school years that she was my classmate, I and some of our classmates would crash into their house - doing projects, to the point that we considered their house as if they were ours. We would eat there, watch their TV at times, even taking showers! Ivy's mom became a mom to some of us, and she not only gave us guidance, she was also a friend, too.

I don't know exactly what caused her death, but from what I know of, she had series of illneses, and if I am not mistaken, she was having dialysis, too. I know her death was some sort of a liberating moment for her for she is now pain free, but of course, being one of her children even for such a short time, it was painful to lose someone. I am sure Ivy feels so much pain and sadness now because she is due to give birth early August. Aside from the pain of losing her mom, I am sure it also pained her that her mom couldn't see her grandchild anymore.

My heart goes to you, Ivy. I pray for your mom's eternal repose. Be strong.

My deepest condolences.

*** Jenn ***