And then it was ten

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TEN YEARS is a long time. 

I retired from work on 29 February 2012 and tied up loose ends before arriving in Changi Airport on the 12 March 2012.

It is still fresh in my mind how uncertain I was to make that final leap although everything was already set in motion.  And yet, here I am ten years later.   

Oh yes, I'm not a robot who makes cold, hard decisions without thinking or feeling!  It was a bold move to give up a life I'd known for so long.  A life in my own country and a place I called home was not an easy one to leave behind.  Yet, the pull of a new chapter and to be by the side of the one person who always gives me support wasn't a totally difficult choice, either.  

When I look back now and think of my heart pounding then, I know I was just being human because this is what real people feel.  Taking chances is never easy as in a marriage, having a baby or moving away because we don't know the outcome.  We have to give it a shot and make the best out of it. 

I'm glad I hesitated.  It made me weigh the pros and cons.  What would the reward be if there were no risks?  We take the risk making that jump from what is familiar to all that is unfamiliar.  That's the challenge accepted and that's the challenge to overcome.  If I was a hundred per cent certain, then there would not be the element of winning/losing or of any change.  But a winning change makes all the difference when you reflect.  

Everyone gets dealt with a lousy hand at cards sometimes.  We face circumstances that we can embrace or we can lament the predicament and make each day miserable. We have the option to either make it through or make it work.  

I'd like to say I made it work.  Not for anyone but for me.  I did what I could for others for the most part of my life and now I'm really learning to do what I can for me.  That is the achievement. 

It hasn't always been easy but in the bigger picture, and in hindsight, I can sincerely say, on a scale of one to ten, I'd give this life a TEN.