The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Keeps Giving
May 24th, 2021- TCS # 732
Qué Paso, My Readers?! I realize that This is not My Usual Greeting. Actually, This was a Greeting I heard from My Grandparents on My Dad’s Side of The Family, The Centeno Side of The Family. I remember This Greeting well and I was greeted with It Every Time I would see Grandma and Grandpa. We had a Unique Name for Them, We referred to Them as “Bella” (Spanish for “Abuela”) and “Bello” (Spanish for “Abuelo”).
If You can't believe it, It has been One Year since “Bella” passed away. Honestly, It does not feel like it. Part of Me says that It feels like It has been much longer than One Year/ Part of Me also says that It feels like It has been Shorter.
It is a Weird Feeling though. I remember that The Last Time I talked to Her Very Well. You See, My Mom and I were doing a Short Drive while Staying Close to Town, Going to Get Pie and Popeyes, When My Dad called, I could not answer at The Time but, When I heard His Message, It sounded Serious. I felt a Strange Feeling like Something wasn’t Right. It was on Our Way Home after Getting Popeyes (Fast Food) that I called Them. We Facetimed with My Dad and Bella for 30 Minutes. Again, The Way that Bella was Speaking, She did not sound Very Good. A Couple Days Later, I found out that Bella had Past Away from Diabetes and Kidney Problems. Somehow I knew that, that would happen. My Intuition, I tell ya. So, In Honor of Bella’s One Year Anniversary, I am going to Rerun The Newsletter I wrote when She passed way.
Happy Bella Day!
This Newsletter was Originally Written on May 27th of 2020
(Refer to Newsletter 689)
Cómo Estás and Qué Paso, My Readers?! This is a Very Different Greeting! It is what My Grandparents on My Dad’s Side, We called Grandma “Bella” (Abuela in Spanish) and Grandpa “Bello” (Abubelo in Spanish) every Time that They would greet me. Bella would say Como Estas?! and Bello would use both greetings. My Dad and Bella are both of Puerto Rican Decent. Anyway, as The Late Joan Rivers would say, “Let’s Talk” and This is a “Let’s Talk” Newsletter indeed. (Joan Rivers passed away in May of 2015 and I figured that I would honor her). I have used that when Talking about PTLS Questions (Refer to that Newsletter) But, In Times of Difficult Newsletters, that is My Go-to Phrase. So, This past Monday I found out that My Grandma on My Dad’s Side, Bella passed away due to a Large Amount of Health Issues like Diabetes and a Stroke. Now, This is Difficult for Me because Myself and The Centeno Family Country, Let’s just say have not always agreed with Each Other. The Centeno Family Country (or FC for Short) was more of a Let’s have a A lot of Fun without a whole lot of Responsibilities and Understanding of PTLS. Well, My Aunt Cindy actually came to a PTLS Conference One Time! That was Astounding! She is The Only One who I felt understood me in the Centeno FC but, I digress. This is Not about that. You See, My Mom and I were doing a Short Drive while Staying Close to Town when My Dad called, I did not answer at The Time but, When I heard His Message, It sounded Serious. So, As We got closer to Home, I decided to Call Him. Again Lack of Understanding. He had been in San Antonio, My Birth Home Town since Marzo (March) because Bella was not doing well. So, Between My Mom and I, and My Dad and Bella, We FaceTimed for like 30 Minutes. There was Something Off about The Way Bella was Talking. I thought to Myself, something that I usually tell Other People including My Friend “M.P Twinee” that Last Words Really Matter! They don’t have to be Serious or Meaningful, They can be Funny too. They can Range from I Love You to Some Random Word that You came up with that Sounds Funny. Anyway, I thought to Myself, that Yes Myself and My Dad, and Myself and Bella (More than My Dad) did not Agree. But, I do know that If This was The Last Time that I talked to Bella, which again My Intuition said Something was not Right, I owed her Some Good Last Memories/Last Words. We did have a Good Conversation in those 30 Minutes, If It was the Last Time, It seemed Peaceful mostly. When I found out about Her on Monday, I somehow knew that It would happen and Yes, that My Last Words meant something to Her. Now, had I really thought about it, I probably would have Re-told a Funny Story about One of The Many Things that She let My Brother and I get away with, like Going to see The Bevis and Butthead Movie when We were 13 Years Old because We insisted on Seeing It. So, I have been reflecting on The Funny Memories and Some of Not-So-Fun Ones that keep wanting to pop up. It gives me Comfort that I know that She is Out of Pain up in Heaven and She can watch me now to see who I really am and Have a Better Understanding of How My Mind works. I know that She must be Dancing the Salsa and Hanging Out with Her Favorite Singer, Selena. All in All, You may not Understand Someone, Even in Your Own Family but, Always Remember to End a Conversation with Good Last Words or I Love You or both.
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. I Love You, My Readers! You Guys are Awesome!
