The Boy Apong

'Apong', in Ilocano, means great-grandparent. It's the same for males and females, so the boys differentiated between my grandparents by calling them "the girl apong" and "the boy apong."

Tonight, the boy apong, my last surviving grandparent and the boys' last great-grandparent on my side died at the age of 92. When I told the boys, they both started to cry. Then, Riley giggled. I looked at him and asked, "what's funny?" He giggled again and said, "He lived longer than the doctors said he would." True. My grandfather was a survivor. He perservered as a prisoner of war. He survived the Bataan Death March. He raised seven children; he had fourteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He enjoyed a long life. But that didn't stop the tears tonight as the boys mourned "the boy apong."

I am sad for my dad. For his siblings. However, I am grateful for the time that my boys were able to know their great-grandfather.