Here and There: Time to Eva In Heaven

March 24, 2023

Time to Eva In Heaven

When I hear the phrase "let's go eva..." I automatically think of Lady Hiva's mum, Felila. That is one of two phrases she would always say. She was a quiet and humble person. She sacrificed so much to serve her family. She had very little pleasures of her own, but one of them was to go "eva." Eva is an easy way to say, let's go explore/wander. To get out of the house. Some of her favorite places to eva were Sears and Walmart.

This month, Felila decided to go eva in heaven. As sad as it is to see her die, I can only imagine how happy she is to be with her favorite eva partners--Liufau and Moana.

Many people have asked us if it was expected to have her pass away. The reality is that death is never truly expected. I think we always have a sense of hope that our loved ones will get better. She had not been the healthiest the last few years--diabetes taking a huge toll on her life for the last 20+ years. But she went downhill quickly.

It was hard on Lady Hiva because we live on the other side of the world. She was ready to board a flight to be there. But then her mum went in for surgery and was sent home so we thought she was on the mend. But a few days later Leni called to say that she was not getting better and was going back into the hospital. I had Lady Hiva on a flight within a few hours.

She was able to sit with her mum for the last several days of her life. She didn't even stop to shower after her 30 hours of flying to Hawaii. The kids and I waited for more news as the days dragged on. We did not go at that point because we could not go into the hospital and Lady Hiva was not going to leave her mum to come out.

Then they decided that Felila's body was failing so they were pulling off the machines. I was already at work, the kids were already at school. It was 0830h I booked tickets, ran home and threw stuff into suitcases and was on my way to the school by 0900h. The school had the kids ready for me to pick up and we dashed to the airport. We arrived by 1000h. Checked in, waited in the four lines to get to the gate (yes, there are four different lines) and made it to our flight at 1200h!

These two Little Muggles are so helpful. They do not complain, they push baggage, the read when we are in lines, they entertain each other, they are polite to people helping us (which is good because sometimes their dad is not ....). I appreciate them so much.

We had a long layover in NYC and it was COLD! The kids loved seeing snow. Even though we were all dressed in shorts and t-shirts. We forgot it was winter!! I went to check in and had left my driver's license in India! YIKES!! The kids wanted to eat burgers so we found a restaurant nearby that was open late. I love all their smiles even after such long flights.

This was Lady Hiva's view from the hospital. Such a peaceful view at a time of heartache.

Some of the best reasons to go home are the beach and food! It was not really the time to be at the beach, we needed to support Lady Hiva, but we could EAT!! That brings me to the second phrase that will always remind me of Felila--she would always say "Kai ke osi" or 'eat it all.' She would always say that to me and tell me that I was too skinny and needed to eat more HAHA.

The kids loved being around cousins. They would play outside all day. By the end of the day they were covered in dirt and mud. They would have to wash themselves three times to get clean!

We went into full funeral preparation mode. Lady Hiva and I went with Leni to get the lace for the coffin. That was one of the things her mum really wanted. Then Leni wanted to do a really big backdrop for the viewing. She laughed as Lady Hiva and I bickered like an old married couple about how many yards of material we needed to cover 25 feet. HAHA

One in awhile my favorite people and I would sneak away and have some GOOD food! I love these faces more than I can tell you!

Cousins and more cousins! We love seeing them all!

Lady Hiva and I did the flowers for the funeral. One thing that made her mum happy was flowers. So we went BIG!

Lucky Dragon was so happy that he won a huge stuffed animal from the 25cent machine! Lucky guy!

These four went to dress the body before the funeral. The two in the photo above are what is holding everything together. Both of them are such strong women. They serve, they are intelligent, they are faithful, and they work hard.

I had 7 little helpers when I built the stand for the backdrop. Each one of them took turns measuring, drilling and leveling. I am glad that they wanted to learn how to work.