A Prayer for the Dead

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.

Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.

In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.

Amen.

http://www.catholic.org 

Starbucks Tawam

Right in the middle of our hospital lobby is a Starbucks Coffee shop.

Temptation.

Three-month-old Iñigo

Our baby is three months old! How time flies! He is getting bigger and bigger, and smarter and smarter.

Thanks to my wife’s religious sending of pictures and videos, I am able to see his developments even though I am so far away from him. Thanks to digital cameras. Thanks to the internet.

Check out my boy’s blog site  for more stories and pictures.

See you soon, son!

Ma’asalama, Ate Marian!

ate marian

I attended Ate Marian’s ma’asalama party (farewell party) held at the Green Mubazarrah grounds last 23^rd of October. It was a picnic-type party with barbeque on the side. The weather was just excellent for this outdoor gathering which was attended by most of my colleagues in the surgery unit. It was a great time to relax and be out of our white uniforms and scrubs, and unwind from the busy surgical workplace.

 

I admire Ate Marian’s decision to resign from her work. She decided to leave the nursing profession because she wanted to concentrate on her family, and try to enjoy life while she is still younger. She is only on her late 40s, while I see a lot of nurses her age still work until about late 50s.

 

I think that retiring from work when one is still in great shape and healthy is the best way to enjoy the remaining years of a person’s life. Of course, this would depend on how much a person has saved for his retirement. It could then be deducted that the younger you start saving for retirement, the earlier is the chance that you retire from work early.

 

I don’t see myself working as a nurse on my late 50s. And I don’t want to work, work and work for the rest of my life. That is why I want to work hard now while I am still young and strong. And then enjoy the remaining years with my family while I am still up and about – while I can still go mountain hiking with my son, and run around with grand children.

 

I guess one of my greatest fears is to grow old, weak and bankrupt. It would then be a very unhappy geriatric life. Whoah! Am I starting to feel the pangs of midlife crisis? I think, it’s too early…

 

Thanks, Ate Marian. We could have worked together for a very short period of time, but you have already given me one of the most important life lessons I should remember.

Happy Blogiversary!

I did not realize it. I have been blogging for more than a year now! Time sure flies when you’re having fun! My first post was dated 3^rd of October 2007, and so I should have celebrated my first year anniversary in the blogging world a couple of weeks back. But nevertheless, here’s my anniversary post to celebrate my blog’s birthday.

 

I never thought I’d ever develop an interest in blogging. When one posts his writing, he actually opens himself to the world. There’s a tendency for people not to like what you write, and you may get criticisms. But I had very good feedbacks and comments during my first few months of writing, and that I believe made me encourage to continue blogging. Since then, my site has generated readers (and new friends!).

 

In the last twelve months that I was blogging, my site has been a witness to the changes that were happening to my life. My wife had an operation. My first baby was born. I taught in nursing school. I moved to the UAE to continue my nursing profession. I wrote not only my ups, but my downs as well. People reading my posts have started to know more about me and my family. My life has become an open book to the world.

 

Thanks to everyone who stops by on this page and leaves a comment. It would be no fun without you, guys! I hope that you learn and gain something with what I write. I apologize for not being able to post more often. My shifting schedule makes it very difficult to post often, but I do wanted to write about a lot of things. I hope that I will be able to post more in the coming year.

 

Happy Anniversary! Happy Birthday to my blog!