Jasmine took that picture of her holding his hand shortly before he passed away.

She also wrote about her grandfather’s death.
And I thought what she said was both interesting and really touching.
Especially for an 11 year old.

I’ll get to that in a moment.
But first a little backstory on her grandfather.

His name was Romulo Calimquim.
He was born in the Philippines.

At the age of 11 his father died.
And he became the sole provider for his family, supporting his mother, brother and sister.

In the 1960’s he came to the Bay Area and settled down in Vallejo.
He had 7 children.
13 Grandchildren.
And 9 Great Grandchildren.

Now back to what Jasmine wrote.
Here’s a condensed version of what she posted on Facebook:

“When most people think of death, they think that the person dying doesn’t want to die.
But some people are tired, or don’t want to go through a procedure, which would hurt them.

For example, My grandfather passed away not too long ago.
He’s the reason why all of my family exists.

My grandfather was suffering, with his breathing.
He didn’t want the machines and tubes connected to him.

He was happy, that he could rest in peace on heaven, but also sad that he had to leave all of us.

At the hospital, almost all of our family was there.
We all huddled around one small bed, sobbing and looking at my grandfather.

But the only person in there who didn’t look sad was the grandfather.
But why?

My grandpa was happy just the way he was BEFORE he had machines, and tubes connected to him.

He wanted to be happy and with his family without counting on his machine to make him breath.

He felt it was time to go.
Maybe death isn’t so bad after all.

So when someone passes away, don’t be sad, just be grateful for being alive.

Jasmine Gilbert

I thought that was very well written.
And I appreciate her father Bob sending it to me.

You can learn a lot from an 11 year old.
Just ask Jasmine.

‪#‎GratefulToBeAlive‬