Don't Retire!

When I woke up this morning, my first thought was “I don’t want to retire!”. Yes, I woke up to the realization that I cannot retire because of two very basic reasons: first, I have a special child to support, and second, my retirement pay has been exhausted.

It’s a good thing that a blog’s title can easily be changed. I realized that the title “My Retirement” just makes me feel too old. I know that most people my age or even younger yearn to retire young so if you’re one of them, give that a second thought. Maybe you just want to retire as an employee but want to have your own business. In the Philippines, you will need at least 10 million pesos to be able to take the risk of going into business and still live conveniently even in times of losses. Otherwise, don’t retire! You may work part time or get a contractual or project based job, you may even study in your free time to enhance or update your skills, just don’t retire!

Count Your Blessings

The year I was involuntarily retired due to the inevitable closing down of our department, I knew what to do with my retirement pay, thanks to the entrepreneur seminar given by my last employer. I learned that I shouldn’t use all my retirement pay for business. I used a large percentage of it to buy real estate properties. These properties are now blessings to my family though we’re selling some of them now. The best blessings, however, will always be those that cannot be bought. They usually come unexpectedly, like the special child who was prematurely born inside our house. The biological mother of this child had packed up all her things and was ready to go home to her province because her mother wanted her to be home on her debut. A week before her scheduled trip, she gave birth on her bed, shocking everyone at home since nobody knew she was pregnant, and the baby was really very small they thought it was dead (one pound only). She was also shocked, at first thought there was a stone expelled by her belly. To make the long story short, the duplex house of my mother-in-law where we live at the smaller house, became one big home for this special child we have now legally adopted.

For this year, 2008, be prepared for the unexpected. It can be the best blessing you’ll receive in your lifetime, though at first, it can be disguised as a big problem. Continue trusting God completely, because He will always prepare you for it.