Retirement Story: Cheers to Retirement!

-

What is it about the word "retirement" that make some people afraid? Not me, because after 39 years, it's Cheers to retirement!  When my mandatory retirement from government service finally arrived,  I was so excited that weeks before, I could not fully concentrate on work anymore. I was counting the days and literally daydreaming about the things I wanted to do. 

Where did time go?  Looking back to my years of working for the government, it seems like one long roller coaster ride that was mostly fun, sometimes scary but, it is finally over. Phew! Would I do it again? Honestly, I really don't know. I am quite ambiguous about this, because I love the concept of working for people and making a difference in creating a better life for others. But on the other hand, working in government is hard and thankless...you either take it or leave it. Obviously, I took it...39 long years. The bureaucracy  and politics can defeat you, and make you give up on all your hopes and dreams of better government.  It takes a lot out of you, not just guts, but blood, sweat and tears. I was raised to be a strong and principled person, that is why I stayed in the face of all kinds of challenges, because my commitment to service, was greater than anything thrown at me.  Of course, there were also many victories won and positive changes happened, which only resulted in what I have always wished and worked for, and that is to deliver better health services for our patients.

I leave government service not without any regrets, because there have been many times when I said to myself, I should have done better. But, Life has a way of turning things around, all for the good of all, and so, I leave with a happy heart, knowing that the hospital is in good hands. I may not say this, but the TLJPH staff makes me very proud, they are a force to reckon with. I am honored and so touched when they prepared this retirement presentation for me that I will unabashedly share here. 

 


https://youtu.be/haDDtY7a_sw

 To everyone...Thank you for the memories. I will always cherish this.

Cheers to Retirement!

 

 




Comments

Post a Comment

I love reading your comments but please identify yourself. Anonymous comments will not be automatically approved. Thank you!

Popular posts from this blog

Love Me Forever, A Parent's Love

-
Image
While we were browsing at a bookstore, my son who was a pre-teen then found this little story about a mother and her son, and showed it to me.  It was a touching read but looking at the price, I thought it was too expensive for a children's book...so we put it back.  But I never forgot the story.  As my son grew up, I would remember the story and wish that I bought the book.  Last February, I was tasked to give a talk on "honoring our parents". As I was preparing my slides, I thought about the message of that book and how apt it would be for my talk. However, the only thing I can remember was the story line, the picture on the cover and nothing else. So I started searching on the internet...and many hours later, I found it...Thank God that today everything is in the internet!  The book is " Love me Forever " by Robert Munsch .  Here is a video presentation taken from YouTube. After my talk, I showed this video and needless to say, there were not a ...
Read more

#MakeITsafePH - Online Safety For My Pre-Teen And For My Peace of Mind

-
Image
The widespread use of the internet has given rise to the emergence of internet-related crimes such as rape, theft, bullying and piracy which made the public, especially the youth, very vulnerable. I have a nine year old (soon to be ten) daughter whose online presence is growing day by day. This is something inevitable and so, for my peace of mind and for my daughter's online safety, I have established a set of rules regarding internet usage.
Read more

The "Pwede Na" Mentality...Mediocrity as a Life Principle

-
Image
I was driving to work this morning and as usual, I found myself getting annoyed by many wrong practices but commonly done by people that it got me thinking (while waiting for the traffic lights to change)... are these people either clueless or plain thoughtless that they are doing the wrong thing, OR are they people who know that they are doing wrong, but are inconsiderate and plainly just don't care, OR these people are aware that what they did is not quite right but then everyone is doing it, so they might as well do it too, OR people are so used to mediocrity that this has also become the principle they follow in life.
Read more