Pain of age
Pain of age
Posted 01:46am (Mla time) Mar 06, 2005
By Jokee Botor-Reyes
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the March 6, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
I NOW feel the pain of age. Not in my body though. At 65, I still feel very strong physically (and mentally, too). I do not suffer from arthritis like most people of my age. (Some of my friends say arthritis is an indication of old age and I do not believe them.) My blood pressure is perfectly normal, thank God. I can still climb stairs, although I get occasional headaches which come when it is time to pay the bills (house rental, electricity, water, cable TV).
But the most demanding are my two grandchildren's monthly tuition fees. Yes, I am sending my two grandsons to school. They are my son's children and since my son does not have a very rewarding job, I promised to take care of their monthly tuition fees. Y is now 8 and Z is 7 and they are in Grades I and II, respectively. Fortunately and unfortunately, they go to a school run by sisters. As everyone knows, these schools charge high tuition fees though it seems their students are getting the same education as my neighbor's kids who go to a public school. Except, of course, that my grandchildren know their prayers pretty well, go to Mass regularly, talk about Mother Mary and celebrate her birthday on September. They also enjoy more holidays-the feast of the Assumption of our Lady and the birthday of Mother Candida. They also get to have yearly intramurals and Family Day. Both activities are capped with a rest day the following day.
I can still manage to walk a mile. Fact is, I walk to where I take my ride to go to my place of work, and that is more than 2,000 steps away from home. I also walk back home from work, but I negotiate the distance by halves because I drop by the church for my regular Mass and other devotions. People of my age have got to be more spiritual. I do not expect to live for 10 years more. I might be really old by then and I hate to think about it. This is why I have become devoted to my Christian duties, like saying my prayers to the Holy Face of Jesus and St. Anthony on Tuesday, to Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Wednesday, to St. Jude on Thursday and to the Black Nazarene on Friday. I also do not miss my little prayer to the Infant Jesus of Prague and to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Pe¤afrancia, best of all because she is our patroness in the Bicol region. I have been blessed with so much, e.g., my good health, because of my spirituality. Of course, I have my regular vitamins.
Now, going back to the pain of age. I do not earn as much as I used to. When I got back to work after retiring, I was made to understand that I can only be given this few number of units to teach in college. It means I have to be paid by the hour and it means "No Work. No Pay." Fine. But with so many holidays, I am losing so much number of hours and so much dough. With a President who has a penchant for declaring holidays, I feel so unlucky. For example, there was that Ramadan holiday, the two-day transport holidays, typhoon "Yoyong" (which meant two whole "school-less" days), and the long semestral and Christmas breaks.
As a "part-timer," I do not get the benefits due regular employees, like cash gifts, rice allowance and a full 13th-month pay. And with the cost of living nowadays, it seems very difficult making both ends meet. So, I wish I were younger in age. Why does age have to be a hindrance to work? It should not be. In the States, there are some fast-food joints manned by a crew of senior citizens. And some schools employ professors who are way over 60 years old, as long as they are still mentally fit, can remember their students' names and can grade fairly. I have been made to understand by a school authority that there is a law which says that people who have retired should not be hired as regular employees.
Well, the senior citizen's ID card is some kind of a blessing, a little addition to a very meager monthly SSS pension that can never maintain a simple life. So, senior citizens get discounts for medicines, food but there are some eateries which do not honor the card. You are lucky if you are a Makati resident. Mayor Jejomar Binay allocates a monthly allowance for Makati senior citizens and grants them a 13th-month pay. He even sends them a birthday cake, and they can watch movies every day, gratis, in any Makati movie house. But you can only get the senior citizen's ID card upon presentation of a voter's ID. Well. Maybe Manila Hizzoner Lito Atienza can duplicate the same thing in his city or he has never heard of Mayor Binay's program. Maybe, he should think of a similar program for senior citizens to get more support when he runs for another public office after his last term as Manila chief executive ends.
Jokee Botor-Reyes, 65, is a devoted grandmother to three grandsons. She teaches Mass Communication subjects at Trinity College, Quezon City.
Posted 01:46am (Mla time) Mar 06, 2005
By Jokee Botor-Reyes
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the March 6, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
I NOW feel the pain of age. Not in my body though. At 65, I still feel very strong physically (and mentally, too). I do not suffer from arthritis like most people of my age. (Some of my friends say arthritis is an indication of old age and I do not believe them.) My blood pressure is perfectly normal, thank God. I can still climb stairs, although I get occasional headaches which come when it is time to pay the bills (house rental, electricity, water, cable TV).
But the most demanding are my two grandchildren's monthly tuition fees. Yes, I am sending my two grandsons to school. They are my son's children and since my son does not have a very rewarding job, I promised to take care of their monthly tuition fees. Y is now 8 and Z is 7 and they are in Grades I and II, respectively. Fortunately and unfortunately, they go to a school run by sisters. As everyone knows, these schools charge high tuition fees though it seems their students are getting the same education as my neighbor's kids who go to a public school. Except, of course, that my grandchildren know their prayers pretty well, go to Mass regularly, talk about Mother Mary and celebrate her birthday on September. They also enjoy more holidays-the feast of the Assumption of our Lady and the birthday of Mother Candida. They also get to have yearly intramurals and Family Day. Both activities are capped with a rest day the following day.
I can still manage to walk a mile. Fact is, I walk to where I take my ride to go to my place of work, and that is more than 2,000 steps away from home. I also walk back home from work, but I negotiate the distance by halves because I drop by the church for my regular Mass and other devotions. People of my age have got to be more spiritual. I do not expect to live for 10 years more. I might be really old by then and I hate to think about it. This is why I have become devoted to my Christian duties, like saying my prayers to the Holy Face of Jesus and St. Anthony on Tuesday, to Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Wednesday, to St. Jude on Thursday and to the Black Nazarene on Friday. I also do not miss my little prayer to the Infant Jesus of Prague and to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Pe¤afrancia, best of all because she is our patroness in the Bicol region. I have been blessed with so much, e.g., my good health, because of my spirituality. Of course, I have my regular vitamins.
Now, going back to the pain of age. I do not earn as much as I used to. When I got back to work after retiring, I was made to understand that I can only be given this few number of units to teach in college. It means I have to be paid by the hour and it means "No Work. No Pay." Fine. But with so many holidays, I am losing so much number of hours and so much dough. With a President who has a penchant for declaring holidays, I feel so unlucky. For example, there was that Ramadan holiday, the two-day transport holidays, typhoon "Yoyong" (which meant two whole "school-less" days), and the long semestral and Christmas breaks.
As a "part-timer," I do not get the benefits due regular employees, like cash gifts, rice allowance and a full 13th-month pay. And with the cost of living nowadays, it seems very difficult making both ends meet. So, I wish I were younger in age. Why does age have to be a hindrance to work? It should not be. In the States, there are some fast-food joints manned by a crew of senior citizens. And some schools employ professors who are way over 60 years old, as long as they are still mentally fit, can remember their students' names and can grade fairly. I have been made to understand by a school authority that there is a law which says that people who have retired should not be hired as regular employees.
Well, the senior citizen's ID card is some kind of a blessing, a little addition to a very meager monthly SSS pension that can never maintain a simple life. So, senior citizens get discounts for medicines, food but there are some eateries which do not honor the card. You are lucky if you are a Makati resident. Mayor Jejomar Binay allocates a monthly allowance for Makati senior citizens and grants them a 13th-month pay. He even sends them a birthday cake, and they can watch movies every day, gratis, in any Makati movie house. But you can only get the senior citizen's ID card upon presentation of a voter's ID. Well. Maybe Manila Hizzoner Lito Atienza can duplicate the same thing in his city or he has never heard of Mayor Binay's program. Maybe, he should think of a similar program for senior citizens to get more support when he runs for another public office after his last term as Manila chief executive ends.
Jokee Botor-Reyes, 65, is a devoted grandmother to three grandsons. She teaches Mass Communication subjects at Trinity College, Quezon City.
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