GALATIANS 5:16-17 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Last year, a few days before my 62nd birthday in December, it just dawned on me that it was time to throw in the towel and retire from selling real estate. I woke my wife up and told her that I didn't have to list, market or show houses to clients anymore because I will be retiring; but that I would still get 25% referral fees by just referring my buyers & sellers to other brokers until my real estate license expires in February of 2019. And, why not? After all, I'd been doing the business for 30 years, the longest & most productive job that I'd been into, after changing careers seven times from the time I finished college forty two years ago. Besides, we were empty-nesters; and our children are doing fantastic in their respective professions, even providing our yearly allowance for cruises & vacations. And, didn't Mom & Dad retire from running our furniture business in the Philippines and turned it over to my eldest brother who got his business degree when two of my other siblings & myself all finished college, even though our parents were still young, healthy, and vigorous?
"This is it," I told Gie; "I'm filing my retirement papers next week, and will start receiving my Social Security pension next year, just like you!" And sure enough, I received my 1st retirement check via direct deposit in my bank checking account a month and a half later.
The best part of being retired as a couple in the Entertainment Capital of the World & one of the least expensive & seniors-friendly cities in the US, known worldwide as the Fabulous City of Las Vegas, is that it's never boring because there's always something exciting to do; we have never been busier with family visitors & friendly guests; and our money goes a long way. Gie & I am spending more time together now doing what we both like best, namely: dining out, or cooking, eating & entertaining family & friends or just the two of us; watching all kinds of entertainment on our smart TV including Netflix, Hulu & Amazon, live concerts, shows, exhibits, movies, baseball, and World Series or Championship games; doing gym, spa & sauna in our Community Clubhouse; shopping for ourselves, gifts, home & groceries; praising, thanking, getting to know & serving the Lord more in Church, Sacred Scriptures, Holy Traditions, Charismatic Communities, and Abused & Impoverished Children; and just cruising around the world, or visiting our children & granddaughter in New Jersey & Texas, and friends & relatives in the US or the Philippines.
Anyway, I booked our 7th & longest cruise with Norwegian for Spring of 2017, immediately after filing my retirement online at the Social Security Office in Las Vegas, in order to celebrate my retirement & Gie's birthday. Also, we decided to attend our granddaughters Xiomara's Christening in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in Washington Township, NJ (instead of going to Portugal,) and celebrate Mother's Day in New Jersey also, three weeks after we come back from our cruise in May. We told our children about my retirement & our 3-week celebration cruise to the Gulf, Holy Lands & Mediterranean, and two-week stay with them in New Jersey; and they did not only book our flights & hotels with 5 extra days total in Dubai & Venice, but also our round-trip tickets to NJ, when Osbert came home to Vegas for Christmas.
Our children even suggested now that we're both retired, I can take up golf because we live in a Golf Community (most probably,) or even go back to New Jersey and take care of Xiomara so that our daughter can return to working full-time (absolutely not!) And according to Gie, since I've mastered the Art of Cooking Filipino Foods (not really) and finished designing all the exterior & interior renovations of our home
(never; because I want to change the color of our kitchen & bathroom cabinets before our son's birthday,) I can go back to teaching part-time in Las Vegas because they need plenty of teachers in the Valley, and she thinks that I was cut out for it when she saw me teaching CCD in St. John's Parish as a substitute a long time ago (no, thanks.) And my Russian friend in Rhodes Ranch thought that I should run as a Director of our Board because we need change very badly in our Homeowners Association (never;) while Fr. Nadim asked me if I was interested in becoming a deacon (no way!)
Actually, I thought of swallowing my pride and abide by the new requirements of the Graduate School and take 12-credit refresher Philosophy courses for one semester at the Catholic University of Santo Tomas in Manila (because according to them I'd been away for too long, without even considering the many courses I audited in the US under Columbia University's Visiting Scholarship Program, and 3 years of Film Studies, scriptwriting & making a feature film out of my thesis at NYU;) get a new thesis adviser (because my previous one, the venerable scholar & professor Dr. Florentino Hornedo died 2 years ago;) defend my thesis (when there was nothing to defend, according to Dr. Hornedo, because the nature of my thesis changed to a multi-media presentation of Aristotle's Philosophy of Friendship; hence, I already completed all the requirements;) and finally obtain my Master of Arts degree in Philosophy (when I should have been awarded the degree after finishing & submitting the 'Project in lieu of Thesis,' which was the only thing I was missing, as per my thesis adviser; but the University wouldn't accept or hear any of it.)
On second thought, do I really need to go through this whole process again just to add the initials M.A. after my name, when deep in my heart I knew that I already earned it, even though I have no use for it because I had no plans of going back to teaching Philosophy again, which was the original reason (that is, to get tenured and promoted from College Instructor II to Associate Professor I) on why I took the Master of Arts in Philosophy program anyway. Besides, am I willing to return to the Philippines and be separated from my wife for at least 5 months and live most probably a free-spirited, licentious and delectable life in Manila, just like during my exciting, bachelor & grad-school days, while risking my limbs, sanity & marriage for the sake of bragging rights? I don't think so.
So, I did what I was supposed to do before embarking on our long cruise abroad, extended vacation, and family affairs in New Jersey; but more importantly, as a new retiree. First & foremost, I resigned as overall coordinator and one of the prayer leaders during our prayer meetings in our parish-based Charismatic Prayer Group by the end of 2016 in St. Thomas More Church. I turned over the group to one of our experienced and gifted brothers and introduced him to our pastor as our new servant leader because I will be away for a long time, and didn't want to take that responsibility anymore (just like when we left as a couple the outreach & choir of our first Charismatic group in Las Vegas, and started our current prayer group with other East Coast Charismatic expats.)
Next, we went on a strict diet & exercise routine in order to lose the extra baggages inside our bodies; updated our wardrobes, shoes, accessories & trip supplies; ordered 3-months supply of medications & vitamins; and booked all our regular medical appointments before our trip.
It was during one of these routine medical checkups on January 30 that I told my primary physician about the lump and lingering pain I'd been feeling for the past five days on my right face and underneath the jawline and neck which was kind of similar to my brother-in-law's when he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer a year ago. It was the worst thing I could think of (which is not at all unusual for me; hence I try to refrain from going to the doctor unless I had to or couldn't take the suffering anymore, which was always later on for the most part, because I have a high threshold for pain) since he & his cousin who died of cancer shared the same dentist who had the habit of not putting the protective covering on me every time he took my x-ray's which were many because he did a lot of bridges & cosmetic work on my teeth. My doctor told me not to worry because it was only an ear infection, gave me prescriptions for antibiotics & Ibuprofen, and flagged me to come back the following month, unless the pain got worse. The medicines did wonders for a few days, but on the 7th day I marched back to his office because I couldn't take the suffering any longer. He referred me for an MRI approval which I wanted to do before embarking on a cruise in March. However, I didn't get the approval until we were about to leave; so I rescheduled it after we came back from our cruise on April 24.
In the meantime, I asked for healing prayers from our Charismatic brothers & sisters and posted it on Facebook for those who would care enough to pray for me (just like they did to Kuya Arthur who was cured from cancer) and also believed in signs & wonders, and miraculous healings from our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, Who was, is, and will always be my Healer. I knew also that not everybody prayed for me even if they believed in miraculous healing, but rather rejoiced at the prospect of me having cancer, especially my enemies whom I read about in the Book of Psalms in front of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Sharbel's Adoration Chapel; but it didn't deter me from telling everyone I knew who was a follower of Jesus Christ by asking them to pray for me. I prayed for the intercession of St. Sharbel and Mama Mary when we came to the Healing Service of Fr. Nadim in the Maronite Chapel of Las Vegas, and during Annointing of the Sick at the concelebrated Holy Mass in St. Joseph Church.
I stopped taking Ibuprofen completely and offered everything to God (I meant every pain in my body, and forgot about my MRI) for the healing of all abused children. And by the time we flew to Dubai where we were supposed to board the Norwegian Star, I was not only at peace within me but felt joyous in anticipation of seeing, touching, hearing, tasting, smelling, and walking the Holy Lands where Jesus was born, grew up, lived, preached, performed miracles, cured the sick, betrayed, crucified, died, and resurrected from death, which put a big smile on my face because I trusted and believed in Him.
Gie and I had a blast during the entire cruise, but most especially during the holiest day of the Catholics' calendar on Easter Sunday because, instead of flying back to Vegas from Venice for 16 hours, we extended our stay after disembarkation and took a side tour of Padua, Italy where we were able to attend Holy Mass and received Jesus in Holy Communion.
Jesus granted our fervent wish from the time we meditated His Passion & Death in Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa & inside the Church of Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, and went to Confession in St. Francis Church for me and at the Cathedral in Dubronik, Croatia for Gie, in order to celebrate Easter Sunday three days later on April 16, by attending His Sacred Eucharist and receiving Him in His Church, instead of being asleep inside the confines of an airplane. And, by the time we got back inside our home in Las Vegas, we went straight to the altar in our living room to thank the Lord for our safe cruise, and because the pain on my face & neck which I suspected to be lymphatic cancer was gone.
The following day after we arrived, I called the Radiology office and told them the good news that my pain was gone after our cruise, and postponed my MRI scheduled for April 24, until after I see my primary doctor the following week. I went to Quest Diagnostics instead because I didn't need an appointment to have my blood drawn, and wasted no time so that they could send the results of my cholesterol levels to my doctor before my next appointment.
Finally, two months ago on May 2nd, I went to see my primary physician--Dr. Lippmann; and something unusual came about during my routine physical exams with the nurse assigned to me. As usual, I asked her for a copy of my blood test, but she wouldn't give it to me, and said that my doctor will review it with me when I see him. That was strange; but I dismissed it in a second because I had great news for my doctor. After about 15 minutes, Dr. Lippmann came in with a smile on his face and asked me about our cruise. I said it was wonderful; but I couldn't wait to ask him if I still have to go through the MRI when all my pains were gone (which I attributed to our relaxing, exciting & spiritually uplifting pilgrimage to the Holy Lands during our cruise.) Anyway, he handed me a copy of my blood test results and pointed at the skewed & astronomical number regarding my white cells. What does it mean? Very calmly, he said that based on the results of the initial physical exams that was taken by the nurse I had no pneumonia. However, he thought I had leukemia.
Wow!
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