The Rookie Mama

And here is the other half of my father's eulogy, written by my big brother. Some may know that before we closed Dad's casket, I put my graduation ring from Western University in with him. What is less known is that my brother's first Tae Kwon Do black belt, embroidered with Gary Ramon Aguto, also went to rest with Dad... - - -  Some of you know him as Ray, Ramon, Uncle Ramon, Mr. Aguto, Master Aguto, or Lolo. I had the honour of knowing him as Dad.  As you all know, my dad battled cancer. He fought hard. And boy, did he fight. He fought to the end and never complained. He never turned his back to the Lord. The strength in my faith comes from my dad. He never once renounced the Lord or questioned His will. Even after seeing our #fcancer hashtags on our posts, he told us to not say that anymore. He said “God gave me cancer and God has the power to take it away. So, from now on change the hashtag to #faithovercancer.” I’ll miss him playing the guitar and singing.

For those who could not be there, I post my half of our father's eulogy in its entirety... Far in the north of the Philippines, on a tiny island rarely found on any map, a group of pregnant women were stricken by a disease. All but two lost their babies. One of those two was my Lola – and thus, my father was born as he would live: as a simple island boy against unimaginable adversity. My parents left The Philippines to search for a better, safer life. My dad arrived in Canada on a Friday and began working the following Monday, spending 26 years at Kaufman Footwear. When the factory closed, he moved on to Schneiders until 2010 when my parents jointly retired. Then Mom and Dad started to build their dream: a house above the beaches of Sayed, Batanes - a place they could spend the cold Canadian winters, but more importantly, a home they could share with their children and grandchildren. It was to be their legacy. The walls went up, the red metal roof to represent Canada w