Thank You For My Amazing 2024

By: Maria Girlie Pascual

It has been a year since my harrowing, nerve wracking, painful and unforgettable liver surgery in October of last year. As this year comes to a close, I vividly recall what I went through healthwise. On the day I was scheduled to go under my very capable surgeon’s knife, all kinds of thoughts were racing through my head, and this was AFTER I wrote down what I know were also items of importance, the location of family documents and safe deposit boxes, notes regarding my tenants, lawyer’s name and number, in a big, large pink notebook so my one and only son will not miss it on my desk. Then I prayed. At first it was for catching whatever it was on time, for the life I had, my family, my son, but when I thought of my grandson, that’s when the pleading came. I prayed for a safe operation just to be able to make sure that when I do depart this earth, I would have had a glimpse of what he could be, the possibilities he might have and hopefully have a hand in shaping this young boy and arm him with lessons I learned raising his father.

This was the greatest blessing of this year, a new lease on life, another chance to continue on with my personal history. Moving forward, I deeply appreciate, more than ever, the value of family, my son, his dad, my grandson, my brothers and their families, my friends.

Yes, my friends. For what would I, could I have done without a judgment free zone when I needed to release emotions, all of them, ranging from happiness, to anger, sadness and unbridled joy? It truly is not the number of friends you have, nor the length of time you have known them, but the honesty in your relationship with them, the kinship, the love. Without them, God knows how my life would have turned out.

A psychologist, a journalist, a nurse, a CEO of her own company, a kind entrepreneur (at least to me), a fashionista who loves Christmas, and classmates back in Manila that have followed, advised, sympathized and celebrated everything with me for six generations.

I also am blessed with a loving, steady, sometimes infuriating partner who has been with me through everything for the last 19 years after my mom passed. All of them I am deeply blessed and grateful to have in my life.

I also have my wonderful 37 years in real estate to appreciate. The fact that I have helped hundreds of clients and later on, their children to find homes that shaped their own lives has kept me going, and going strong, growing and maintaining my business based on a huge referral base that speaks volumes about my relationship with all of them, buyers, sellers, investors, friends. Again, I feel blessed having a career that now spans almost four decades. And I thank you all for your loyalty, respect and support.

Finally, nothing is possible without the great architect of our lives. Praise the Lord for everything I have experienced, accomplished, learned and continue to learn, as I look forward to the next year that I hope will be as amazing, as fulfilling, as the years before the end of 2024. Blessings to all of us in the coming year !

Be kind, be helpful, be real. THANK YOU!