As I get older, I’ve started to travel back home more often. I guess as I have an aging parent, and I find it important to spend more time with family and friends. I’ve made it a point to come home at least once a year. This time, since I’m not working, I’ve decided to spend more time than the usual week long stay. I ended up staying at one of my sister’s home for the time being.As it so happens, my mother’s birthday is in
August. As a family, we organized, or my sisters’ mostly did plan a wonderful banquet at a
local filipino restaurant, called
Max’s. We invited over 50+ guests, family, friends. It was a great turnout to celebrate my Mom’s birthday. She’s holding up fine. It was great to see family and friends whom otherwise I would not see often when I’m back home. Obviously they have their own lives with their own families and work, etc. But just that brief time spent catching up is priceless. Can’t ask for much but some time with them.
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| (L-R) Jerome, Herbie and I |
I rented my own car so I can come and go as I wish to explore, visit friends, meet up for a get together or
play some tennis. The extended stay made me feel at a lost as I’ve always planned for just a few things in a week to do things then I’m gone. This time, it’s quite a feat to “do things” on my own terms and not on a set schedule. I expect this would be the new normal for me as I have retained more time for myself as a newly minted “
retiree”. I can choose to define this stage in my life any way I feel. The adjective in my head keeps popping out with “
surreal”. But I’m embracing and realigning my life for just this reason, regain more time for myself to do what I feel what I’ve always wanted to do. Whether it’s more travel, relaxation, reinventing myself, so much. But I just want to settle in for the first 6 months to a year on deciding what feels right. For now, I’m simply taking in the moment with having to worry about an alarm clock going off. Welcome to home, for now.
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