OWM #3

Two weeks ago, I found a missing link in our lives. I was tasked by an aunt of mine to look for a relative based in Indonesia. The catch is that I didn't know we have relatives there. Anyway, to make the long story short, after countless searches from every search engine I know, I was able to locate the cousins I didn't know we have. It was a very compelling moment for all of us to have finally found them after 30 years. See, that's why I didn't know about them, I was not even born when they were somewhat "missing." So I was able to contact my cousin Glenn, we exchanged pleasantries and that's when I found out that his sister Jane had already died 8 years ago. It was hard for me to break the news to my mom and aunts and our feelings were torn from happiness and sadness.

Two days ago, Glenn showed us photos of our other cousin Jane and here I am showing some to you this weekend.

This was Jane during her wedding day. Her mother is a Dutch-Indonesian and her father's (my uncle) a Filipino. She was indeed a very beautiful lady. Unfortunately, she didn't have a child with her husband.

That's my cousin Jane who was also a lover of water. She was the youngest Indonesian to have a Masters Degree in Oceanology, she also had 3 international diving certificates and she worked as a diving instructor. And did I mention that she was also a polio victim? That's her, my cousin, and I am very proud of her! She died of food poisoning when she was in Thailand for a diving stint, and if I am not mistaken, she died a year before her father died.

My weekend memoir may sound sad but it is not. It is a celebration of life of a cousin I never knew I had. I am proud of them, Glenn and Jane, because they have grown to be strong people who never had bitterness in life.