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| I love this photo of Grandpa Boon with Jonny and Daniel at the end of 2008, in one of the Memory Lane stores in K.L. |
Hi Loved Ones,
Our family is very sad right now, since our beloved Grandpa Boon, Jonny's dad, passed away last Wednesday, November 6th. He was only 65 years old and we miss him. Over the past three weeks, Jonny has gone to Malaysia twice. The first time he was there for about a week and had a lot of quality time with his father and brother at the hospital. He then returned home but after 48 hours, he had to go back to Malaysia since his dad started to deteriorate quickly. As Jonny's flight landed in K.L., his dad passed away. It has been very sad and difficult, but we are thankful that Jonny was there to say goodbye and participate in the funeral. Jonny is currently on his way back home and should be arriving here tomorrow morning.
It feels strange writing this blog and knowing that Grandpa Boon will not read this post. He was one of the most loyal readers and the blog brought him much joy over the last few years -- which motivated me greatly to keep it going. He rarely commented on the blog itself, but often sent me messages via e-mail to express how he felt. I always loved receiving his e-mails; they were short but always full of love and care.This is the last e-mail he sent on October 12th, in response to the photos of Luke's first two days in the hospital:
"Hi Ana,
Nice complication of photos! Love them! Keep them coming!
And photos of Zenete and Stephen too - much love to both of you too! And as always wonder boy is wonderful, love you Daniel!
Xxxxxx
Boon&J"
In the last few years, I have learned so much from Grandpa Boon. Since receiving the diagnosis that he had colon cancer in 2010, he accepted it well and decided to live each day fully, not feeling sorry for himself, but counting each day as a blessing. He tried every kind of treatment that there was available, and he openly shared that the love that he had for his grandchildren really kept him going. When the doctor asked him this past October if he wanted to try another treatment, he movingly said:
"Just buy me some time so that I can meet my two new grandsons and hold my other three one last time."
His love for his grandchildren was so beautiful it really touched us all. His home was covered in photos of the kids and when we were all there this past Christmas, he asked Jonny and his brother Peter to print more photos so he could fill up all the walls of his new larger house. He was later thrilled to receive on his 65th birthday on January 11th, the hand and foot prints
of his three grandchildren.
Before Daniel went to bed the night I told him Grandpa Boon had died, he said: "Grandpa Boon was always so nice to me. He bought me nice toys, took me places, was always kind. I miss him." Yes, Daniel, Grandpa Boon was a wonderful Grandfather and you are blessed to have experienced his love.
In the last few years of his life, what became most important to Grandpa Boon was the relationships with those he loved. One of the last things he told Jonny at the hospital was:
"Love your family. Love Ana, love Daniel and love Luke."
After a time of grieving and healing, we hope that we can live each day fully as Grandpa would have wanted, loving each other and our loved ones as much as we can.
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