Jeannette Bajalia - Planning a Purposeful Life: Secrets of Longevity

Planning a

Purposeful Life

Secrets of Longevity

Jeannette Bajalia

Book Publishers Network

P.O. Box 2256

Bothell, WA 98041

425-483-3040

Copyright 2017 Jeanette Bajalia

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

LCCN 2016962968

ISBN: 978-1-945271-30-4

eISBN: 978-1-945271-58-8

Editor: Tom Bowen

Cover Design: Laura Zugzda

Design & Layout: Melissa Vail Coffman

eBook: Marcia Breece

This book is dedicated to all my heroes from the Greatest Generation that ever lived, especially Mr. Olen Levell, who served his God, his country and his family with great conviction and service. It is with great sadness that Olen is no longer with us, but we are forever inspired by him and the other men and women who allowed me into their lives so their memories and legacies live on and we can learn from their great wisdom and patriotism. They have forever influenced my life and reinforced for me what God put us on earth to doSERVE ONE ANOTHER unconditionally and with passion and grace.

Acknowledgments

W hen I set out to write this book , I thought it was simply going to be a process for me to learn what the Greatest Generation knows, and to take that and transfer it into the life-planning process we use to make sure retirees and pre-retirees are prepared for the long haulthree, four and maybe even five decades of retirement. I never dreamed I would be so touched and influenced by the men and women who allowed me into their homes.

So, my deepest gratitude goes to the individuals and families who shared their lives, their pain, their joys and sorrows. They will never know how blessed I am, and how I feel I am the luckiest woman in the world to have had the opportunity to learn from them. This experience has helped me define who I need to become for the next half of my life. I thought I had learned a lot from my own family responsibilities with aging family members, but what I realized was that I just didnt know enough. For this, I am deeply grateful. So, I can continue on the journey of discovery, and reach out to the multitudes of centenarians and supercentenarians out there, encouraging them to continue living with passion and conviction and to keep on influencing our society-at-large.

I learned much that will help me help my clients, family members, friends and others. I was also touched by the depth of the sorrow they expressed about the state of the country they are leaving to their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We owe it to this great generation to recognize they still have meaningful contributions to make to our society. We can still learn from their wisdom. My thanks go to this group and to the other older adults who are yet to come across my path. I intend to continue my journey of discovery by learning from the Greatest Generation that ever lived.

In addition to the men and women who shared their lives with me, I am thankful to the two individuals who helped me make this book a reality and who encouraged me to go for it when this book was simply an idea. It became more, thanks to their encouragement and support. Thank you to my editor and creative confidant Tom Bowen, and to Bill Kentling, founder of the 65669 Writers Guild. They were right there with me, giving me the confidence I needed to represent this generation through their unique experiences and stories. They helped me get comfortable with communicating my passion for serving this generation. Thanks to Bill and Tom, we have just begun!

Thanks also to my staff at Womans Worth and Petros Estate & Retirement Planning, who endured my absence from the office and listened to my stories when I came back from my interviews with enthusiasm and excitement. Thank you for your unconditional support and commitment to my vision, and for your leadership in carrying the torch to protect individuals and families. You have never lost sight of the important role you play in doing whatever it takes to help the most senior and vulnerable of all generations.

Finally, I must acknowledge my four sisters, who continue to encourage me despite my lack of availability at family gatherings when work and travel demands interfere. Thank you for understanding that when I am absent from you, it is because I am spending time with seniors who dont have large families like I do, helping them with the affairs of their lives. When my sisters learned about this book, they rolled up their sleeves, cleared the path, and allowed me to follow my heart, my passion and my dream. Your assistance has helped me speak for the men and women in this book and to share their wisdom with the world.

Introduction

O ften in life, we get curve balls , and we never know why God throws them at us. Experiences that seem like dirty deals at the time turn out to be opportunities in disguise. While we are scratching our head, wondering why our life took this or that unexpected direction, we are being groomed. Prepared. Readied to do what we are put here on this earth to do. I believe this.

I know in my case, it was not until I was in my mid-50s that I realized the divine plan for my lifemy callingwas that of serving senior citizens and the elderly. Throughout my life, I have been blessed with many amazing opportunities, each of which has prepared me, usually without my realization at the time, for the professional journey that I would eventually take.

Coming to America

I was born here, but my parents immigrated to America from a small town in the central West Bank of Palestine called Ramallah, a historically Arab-Christian town located about six miles north of Jerusalem. My mother was 16 years old when her family arranged a marriage with a well-respected young man, Elias Bajalia. My father would learn with a jolt what family responsibility meant. His father abandoned him and his mother when he was a teenager, leaving him no choice but to quit school and work in the fields to support his mother. He would develop a deep commitment to family and hard work.

We all love compliments. I beam with pride if someone notices that I am a hard worker. If such a thing as ones work ethic can be inherited (and I think it can), I am sure I can thank my fathers DNA for that. It was by sheer hard work and determination that he could survive and care for the two most important women in his life.

This is the section of the Israeli West Bank wall separating Israel and the historically Christian town of Ramallah, Palestine, my parents hometown. (Photo by W. Hagens: senadmessage.nl took the picture, for W. Hagens: copyrights have been transferred to him. Senddamessage.nl, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9533240)

Life in Palestine was hard for my parents. When my older sister, Sue, was 9 months old, my father made a tough decision. He would go to America and establish a homestead, find work, and then send for them. Things didnt work out exactly as he had planned. When he arrived, the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression. There was trouble back home, as well. Palestine had come under British rule during World War I and, beginning in 1936, Ramallah was at the center of what became known as the Arab Revolt, which lasted until 1939. No sooner had that ended than World War II began. My sister Sue would be 12 years old before my father laid eyes on her again. With the help of relatives, my father in America had made arrangements for relatives to help accompany my mother, sister and grandmother (his mother, whom he had supported since his father abandoned the family) to America via New York City on Aug. 8, 1947. The dream they had both been working for so passionately had finally come true. The adage, When the dream is big enough, the facts dont count was a reality with my parents.