栀子花

从12岁时起，每年我生日那天，都会有一朵白色的栀子花送到我在贝塞斯达的家里。上面既没有卡片，也没有留言条。致电花店的人吧，也总无结果，因为那是用现金付账的。过了一段时间，我不再四处打听赠花的人是谁，而是尽情欣赏着那朵用柔软的粉红色纸包着的纯白无比的栀子花，欣赏它的美丽，陶醉于那浓郁的香气。     

Horizons,not Boundaries,are the Language of Retirement: Sense of Fulfillment,Fears, and Life Trajectories of Faculty Extendees in the Philippines

This qualitative study probed into (a) the sense of fulfillment, (b) fears and anxieties, and (c) life trajectories of aged working professors recruited from one comprehensive university in the Philippines. Interestingly, findings of the study reveal that respondents were fulfilled and felt successful through the life outputs of their students; their self-worth was witnessed through continued employment and communication to students of ideas, work ethic, and values. Fears and anxieties were rarely felt because of religious commitments and prayers to God. Sense of delight was manifested through the satisfactory academic environment; the possession of supportive systems, including family, friends and community, and their plans of spending their remaining years with the family in leisure activities; and in joining religious organizations.