Life Lessons Learned From a 79-Year Old Retired Doctor

Yes, he is old — but the wisdom is gold.

I was born in California but grew up in the Philippines. After working in the United States for several years, my parents decided to fly back home to continue to raise their kids.

Despite my father’s progressive career abroad as an accountant, my parents chose to continue our lives back in our home country. My Dad probably missed having a support system that ties back to the way of living. It is innate in our culture to have close ties with the family.

Nowadays, families here spend most of their free time at the mall. It is part of the weekend bonding on top of going out of town. Malls here include everything you need.

If you need to drop by the grocery store, barber, gym, or ice cream parlor — you can visit it in one building. It is the place for families to unwind — and you would see a lot of people hanging out during the weekends.

It is also common to see several families living together in one home. Sons and daughters would live in the parent’s homes with their spouses. No wonder there are a lot of quarrels happening that involve the in-laws.

Problems surrounding maintaining orderliness in the home, relationship issues, and money matters — these topics are usual.

Grandchildren are also adding up to the numbers to add to the chaos. I know we are not the only country observing this, but in most western countries — the practice is if you are 18 years old and capable of earning money, you move out and live on your own.

A lot of Filipinos also yearn to work abroad. Here in our country, there are limited opportunities. They believe that they would have a better life outside the country. And this includes my sister flying back abroad — who has been working there for several years.

She would visit us yearly to spend time with us — and her husband’s family. We got to pay a visit to her parents-in-law. They are both retired but looking young and happy.

Good conversations happen during a meal

It is not a lunch for us if there is no white rice and soda. There is a center table waiting for us to serve ourselves. I got myself some pork belly and mixed veggies with soy sauce and vinegar to flavor more flavor to it.

My sister’s father-in-law sat beside me while having the meal

He offered me some beer but begged off since I was more inclined to have coffee but didn’t ask for it.

My wife and I have had a tiring week since we relocated back to the city — and we have been unboxing our things in our not-so-new place.

It was a hot Saturday afternoon — and what I had been looking forward to — laying down to bed and gathering some sleep to recharge myself for a bit. This man was a good entertainer — and he kept us awake.

He was a good conversationalist, making the whole experience fulfilling and complete. The guy was twice my age — he was older than my mom and looked great.

I became interested in what keeps them up in life.

They are both retired — but there were no signs that they were having a hard time.

Focus on quality, not a luxury

When I went around the house, it was simple. He bought it in the 80s. The design was old school but clean and spacious.

It was a typical post-war or boomer house with many pictures and figurines that filled each section of their home. I was so cautious not to take off my eyes from my four-year-old boy — who loved to pick up and touch things in their home.

This man told me that he was not into changing anything — and he said that for sure — when he is already gone, his kid would change everything.

He told me that there were a lot of memories there — and he would not throw away stuff until his death — which proves that he is a sentimental person within.

I also notice a long table inside his dining area. His family seems to close from all this time — True enough, it still serves the same set of people when I entered the house. His lot had two homes inside. The idea is to pass it on later to his two children as an inheritance.

There was also a lovely garden inside. It has birds — and dogs inhabit their piece of land. It had a small gym and a small billiard table occupying its garage. It was refreshing to stay there inside — and experience the breeze coming inside.

There is a lot of room to walk around.

This retired man was previously a medical doctor in the biggest airline in the country. It was typical for aged guys like him to own an SUV. But what I saw in his house was a compact sedan

He was proud to share that he can drive alone at the age of 79

Retirement does not imply a complete absence from work

You can hear most people that they want to retire early. I would yearn for the idea — of sipping coffee and being on the beach all day. But have you noticed that even the rich people do not stop doing what they are doing even if they have options to relax and do nothing?

It is because we — are made to work — and doing nothing would depress us even more.

Despite being retired, they still practice what they do — under less pressure. The man’s wife is also a doctor — and she visits her clinic to get in touch with people.

Uncle Buddy as I call him — was laughing while sharing this portion with me. He said that the consultation hours of his spouse were more on prolonged conversations about personal life with people.

He is also serving as the president of their homeowner’s association. Other than that, he is active in his church — and serving through medical missions.

The difference between the now and before is about their obligations. Their kids have already been successful. There was no pressure to earn more because there were no further obligations to settle.

He was able to invest in his working years — and receive a pension and even travel benefits. His health is in good shape — surprisingly, he has no maintenance medicines to upkeep.

Final thoughts

In life, it matters to have genuine conversations. Despite my young age, Uncle Buddy — demonstrated curiosity about the things happening in other generations.

It matters to have deep exchanges to nourish our well-being. No matter what food is on the table, the experience would be complete with a meaningful discussion.

For this man, it proves that impressing others should not be part of our vocabulary. He nurtured what matters by focusing on his needs and his dreams for the family. What is the use of having decorated stuff if it bothers you until old age?

Build a life within your means. There is more to life than collecting expensive stuff you do not need.

Work is part of our lives — and it keeps us alive.

It becomes enjoyable when there is no pressure — and you do not need the money.