Friday, February 16, 2024



 Approaching Late 50's 

        I'm now 55. Though health issues sometimes confront, but thanks God that overall I can still say that I'm healthy. I need to be because of the herculean tasks that lay on my shoulders. I have still two daughters who are in school, one in college and one in Grade 12. I have my expanded family who also rely on my financial help. My work as a principal also demand that I should be always at the prime of health.

     Various authors have elaborately discussed that we as humans have passages in every decades our lives. Erick Erickson is famous for his stages of human development theory. That for every stage, there are values and expectations that are associated as we aged.

    Now that I'm approaching late 50's, I observe that my economic value still need to be improved as the needs are still all time high. In terms of philosophy and religious outlook in life, I think I already reach my conviction. I accept that I am a believer in One True God. I believe that I should also help those who have less in life and especially the oppressed classes of peasants and workers.

    In terms of personal attitude, I observe that I am more vocal and assertive. In my job as a school principal, I need that I should be firm with my decision and should really say what is really true without sugar coating in my words. 

    I am also thanking the Almighty that  He helped me survives so many adversities in life and had elevated my economic and leadership status as a president of Teachers' Federation in our City.

    Hopefully, the remaining years of my being 50 would be spent in many productive projects and activities that do not only benefit me and my family but also my teaching sector, students and my community and country.

Friday, February 2, 2024

 

Missing My Dead Brother and Father

        If only we can hold the hand of time, we will do it especially if we want to stop painful and tragic events to happen. We humans really would like to perpetuate our happiness and success and same, we want to keep with our dear ones forever if only possible. But no, our time has limit and our life has an ending.

        Year 2022 and 2023, I'd lost my brother Jeffrey and my father Tomas. Though I already understood this as a natural part of living on Earth, but the pain was really soul deep. The thoughts that why somebody should leave ahead was not properly answered. I had only to rationalize everything. Jeffrey died of either of heart attack or stroke  so I told myself, it was because he failed to take care of his health. My father Tomas, died three days after he and my mother attended the wedding day of our niece. He already had a bout with gout for months, creatinine was high, constant bout with asthma, sugar was also high. In short, he was a potential physical time bomb ready to explode anytime. Papang (father) Tomas really succumb to community acquired pneumonia and passed away after our reunion in our house with my first born grandchild to my eldest son. I also rationalize this as good life already for Papang because he also told us that majority of his closest friends had already went to the great beyond ahead of him without thinking that he followed soon.

        Though I am now more than half of the century and had already witnessed so many deaths but still the pain of losing dearest members of the family was so intense. Grieving then was necessary to accept the fact that they were gone forever and could not be seen personally except in memories, pictures and mementos they left.

        Lessons learned, that while our dear ones are still alive, moments should not be taken for granted. We should really give time for conversation, face to face interactions, calling and messaging if we are far away--in short communication is necessary. Otherwise, if suddenly our dear ones went ahead without   any warning we would find ourselves regretting that if only we give our love and time to them while they were alive, then the pain of losing them was not so intense.