If you’re thinking of renting out your house, think again! We have a two-bedroom house in Tanza, Cavite that we decided to rent out in 2006 because the two-hour drive to and from our place every day is putting a toll on both my and my husband’s health and a dent on our financial budget. A year before that, we decided to rent a studio apartment near both our offices, which made things a lot easier for us. We had our place in Tanza rented out for more than 3 years, and last April, the family who rented the place moved to their own house in the same subdivision.

In all the three years that they rented, they paid monthly rent late most of the time, but we did not ask for late rent charges. We also only talked to them via cell phone; I haven’t seen any of them in person. It was actually my father who saw them occasionally because he lives in Cavite, too. And because we had been busy with my mother’s angiogram then heart bypass later, we didn’t have the time to inspect the condition of our place in Tanza after they left.

It was only last Friday morning that my father was able to get the keys to our house from the family who rented it, which were actually coursed through the helpers. He wasn’t able to talk to our contact person, the head of the household, because she said she had important things to attend to which was why she left the house very early that day. However, the key to the grille door padlock was not part of the bunch of keys given to my father. When I texted our contact person, she said all the keys were there, but none of those given was able to open that lock. Ergo, my father wasn’t able to get inside our house.

According to my father, our house from the outside was a mess. One part of our gate and one side of our grille door were unhinged. All window screens badly needed repair. Our garden was badly kept, too, with tall grasses growing everywhere. Now, I’m wondering what damage inside our house awaits us. Would we have to replace things inside the house, such as kitchen sinks and bathroom fixtures, and what about the parquet wood flooring inside our two bedrooms and the vinyl floor tiles in the dining and kitchen area? We’re now having second thoughts about renting out our house again.

While my experience left me scarred in more ways than one, it has also taught me some valuable lessons that I’d like to share with everyone.

1. Ignorance is not bliss. When I had double vision of my right eye in 1999 and my OB/GYN at that time asked me to go see a neurologist, I did not heed her advice. I was ignorant of the fact that my hormonal imbalance that was being treated with contraceptives and that caused me to have double vision of my right eye had something to do with the brain, particularly the pituitary gland. Had I went to a neurologist then, my pituitary tumor could have been detected early, shrunk with medication, and I would not have to undergo surgery. In short, I have been suffering the consequences of my ignorance that I have no power now to undo. My ignorance could have caused me my life.

2. My family is my greatest source of strength and support. We can never really be prepared for tragedies, such as what happened to me. It pained me to see my parents, my father especially, distraught over what I was going through. I had to show them I was okay, that things were going to be okay. It was that thought that kept me going. I also didn’t want to be a burden to anyone, so I had to try my hardest to live a normal life again.

3. Things happen for a reason. We might not be able to fathom why unfortunate things happen to us. But there is definitely a reason for all of these, and in time, those reasons will be revealed. I used to cry a lot after my surgery because I thought that was the end for me. But God has other plans. Like a child just learning to walk, He lifted me up and led me to where he wanted me to be, which is here, with my husband and my son. I am lucky to have been given a second lease on life, and I meant to enjoy every minute of it.