Reaching a Milestone: My 9/11 birthday

 

A few years ago, I couldn’t imagine that I would admit to my real age. I am not vain at all. I just wanted to slow the time of reckoning.  I wanted to preserve the idea of youth where opportunities still abound and the world-is-an-oyster kind of optimism. I wanted to remain agile, adventurous, and creative.

Well, today, I overcame all those crazy ideas, and I proudly proclaim that I reached the milestone. I am finally 65 years old. Just don’t you ever tell me that I don’t look a day over 64 because I will disown you as a friend for life. I am not old; I am wiser.

Yes, I can now claim Medicare, although I am still working five days a week, and have not yet claimed my SSN benefits. My head is still full of ideas, my neurons are still active. I can actually work full-time for two more years and even longer, if I want. I guess, I am still crazy.

Sixty-five is a milestone that anyone should aspire to. Twenty-two years ago, that almost did not happen. I have written about that fateful day on September 11, 2001, when I stood on the platform of a Manhattan-bound train, eager to spend my morning at the Starbucks café in the World Trade Center. For the grace of God, I changed my mind and went home.

A few years after the 9/11 tragedy, I was even reluctant to celebrate my birthday until someone told me that I deserved to celebrate my special day and so I did, in a low-key manner, mindful to not encroach on the grief that permeates that particular day. I have actually written several blog posts about my mixed feelings about this day (I am so emo, I know).

Today, I took a day off from work and just spent my special day enjoying that I did not have to do anything, lazing around in my BTS t-shirt gift from my sister Bheng. Read some historical romances, listened to music from BTS, SB-19, Lee Suhyun, and AKMU, and played with Boomer. Later tonight, we will feast on a Jollibee spread of chicken joy, hamburger, pancit palabok, and coconut pineapple pie. I had three birthday celebrations already prior to today. My heart is full of joy for the birthday wishes on Facebook and Messenger. Thank you all so much.

Since this is a day of reflection, I want to list the many ways that I am thankful for:

• The gift of life. I had a health scare early this year, but everything worked out well. I still have the aches and pains of getting older, but I am generally healthy.
• My faith. I feel spiritually blessed. As my favorite hymn goes, “Let God take charge of your life”.
• Family and friends. I am thankful that I spent my last birthday back in the Philippines, and that I was able to hug my mother again. Thank you for my supportive family, and a whole slew of cousins out there. My friends make my life interesting.
• Despite my age, I still remain agile, adventurous, and creative.

My bucket list, what’s left on it:

• Travel more. I am thinking of starting another blog with my travels.
• Write another book.
• Attend a BTS concert. That will be in 2025 after all the boys finished their military service, I am attending an Andre Rieu concert in a few days, so that is one off my bucket list.
• Paint, draw again, be creative.
• Present in a national/international nursing conference
• Learn to bake. My son Jordan can, why can’t I?
• Tiktok???

 Birthday posts:

A 9/11 Birthday

A 9/11 Birthday Thank You

 

 

 

A 9/11 Birthday Thank-You

A birthday is a day spent in reflection and celebration for the blessings of the past year. But it takes a little bittersweet significance when that day happens to be 9/11. It has been fourteen years since that fateful day when the towers crashed.

September 11, 2001 started as just an ordinary day; clear, blue skies on a mild summer day in the normal hustle and bustle of New York City. Just an ordinary day suddenly pushed into the annals of history as the day when the world stood still and New York City went dark. Every year thereafter, Americans pause in somber remembrance for the countless people who lost their lives for a senseless tragedy.

In years to come, I still hope that the 9/11 reminiscences will always be treated with respect, dignity, and appreciation, not only for those we lost but also for those who continue to survive. We shall not forget.

So, I have kept quiet all these years, always feeling the reluctance to claim attention when everybody else mourns. In my middle age years, I do not need a boisterous celebration. I just do not want to apologize for having a 9/11 birthday, just like when a medical receptionist muttered an apology when I gave her my birthdate.

I am spending my 9/11 birthday with family. This is all I need. There is so much to be thankful for. My heart is full of grateful appreciation for the Facebook page filled with greetings and private messages. Life is good because I have Christ in my life. I have family and friends who keep me going through the years.

Fourteen years after a near-miss with tragedy, I am grateful for the chance to enjoy life as God sees fit for me, to pay it forward. There must be a good reason why I didn't board that E train on the way to a planned trip to the Twin Towers that day. I am thankful for all of you. God gave me you.




God gave me you to show me what's real
There's more to life than just how I feel
And all that I'm worth is right before my eyes
And all that I live for though I didn't know why
Now I do, 'cause God gave me you






2011 birthday post

#911birthday

A 9/11 Birthday

When you share a birthday with a national tragedy, it feels selfish to even celebrate. The catastrophic impact of the 9/11 disaster looms large over any concerns, and renders everything else unimportant, something inconsequential.

The attack on the World Trade Center is forever etched in the collective consciousness of everyone from New York and the world beyond. And on this tenth-year anniversary, the wounds have opened again and the world stands still in shared remembrance.

While some of us have been tangentially affected, the survivors of the innocents felt the void and the loss that most of us could not even comprehend. Children lost their parents, and parents lost their children. The rescue workers who toiled on Ground Zero have lived, but with dust in their lungs. The survivors grappled with post-traumatic stress even after the television replayed the gruesome images every year. The rest of us moved on.

But we cannot escape the memories, nor can we feel safe again.

For this tenth-year anniversary, we struggle with the need to maintain a sense of normalcy in the midst of the threat of new terrorist attacks. The presence of heavily-armed police in subway serves as the new reality.

Where were you when the world stood still?

Ten years ago, I stood on the platform of a Manhattan-bound E train to spend my birthday morning at the bookstore cafe in World Trade Center. Just as the train was pulling into the station, something inexplicable gripped me. I turned around, crossed to the west-bound platform to the train back to home, to safety.

This divine intervention gave me the chance to hug my son again, and reoriented me to life's priorities. My work as a nurse gives me the opportunity to make a difference. So as I continue to celebrate the fact that I am alive, a huge part of this day will be forever spent in remembrance of the day when the world stood still.

I resolve to honor the sacrifices of those who died before us by living my life in full appreciation of God's bountiful blessings and of His promise of the new Jerusalem.

Another 9/11 birthday- 2015

#911birthday