RIP Pop Mario...
at about 3am this morning (Wednesday 13th January 2010) my grandfather, Pop Mario, passed away...
he was 87 years old.
not that i'm into cricket slang at all, but he did have a very good innings... it's a shame that the last year of his life was filled with a lot of pain, with things in his body slowly shutting down.
nanna got the call at 3am this morning from the RAH asking her to come into the hospital as he wasn't well, by the time she got there, with my uncle and auntie, he had passed away. mum told me later this afternoon that when my nana walked into his room, she tried to wake him up as at first she thought he was just sleeping, but alas, he didn't wake... doesn't that just break your heart?
my dad's dad passed away a couple of years ago... nanna marj and pop bob were together and in love since they were 16, they were together for over 60 years. of course it's sad to see your pop die, but the saddest part is seeing nanna's heart just absolutely broken. i'll never forget that at his funeral, seeing her cry for the first time in my life because her soulmate was gone. so so sad.
on friday we will be having the funeral for pop mario. it will be a private family only thing and i'm sure it will be nice - i've organised something really nice for mum and nanna that will make them very happy for the day... i'll tell you more about that when it's all public
how do i feel about it all? well similar to when my pop bob died; i suppose the hardest thing for me was/is to see everyone else so sad. of course i'll miss pop and of course i'm sad about it all but it was for the best... he was in so much pain and so was everyone else, spending at times, 11 hour days at the hospital with him for such a long time...
it was at about 6am when mum came into my room and woke me to tell me the news, i gave her a big hug and we had a little cry together, but we both agreed that it's for the best. for him and for all of us as well.
when i saw my nanna this afternoon, i sensed a lot of relief from her. she was happy, actually really happy. not a tear was shed and we had a good laugh about pop, we all spoke about how finally he is in a place where he will be understood! (he had such a thick italian accent that no one could ever understand him). he was always smiling and when we were kids he loved to pop his false teeth out just a little bit, which grossed us all out... so many happy memories that i really could write about for ages...
the funeral was all organised in such rapid speed, it hadn't even been 12 hours since he passed away and it was all organised. it's going to be quick, simple and small - sounds just like pop!
my uncle asked for some of his ashes so he can take them with him to italy at the end of the year to sprinkle in the ocean, which i think is a really beautiful thing to do... pop would love that
so soon i'll get to properly say goodbye to a man that lived a pretty amazing life, made me laugh, made me cry but was always proud of me no matter how intensely i had failed...
RIP Pop Mario xx
love from 'the boy'
aza
x
