Thankamony had voluntarily retired from service in 2012 to spend some time with the children in the States. The era of Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook etc. had shrunken the world. For us, life had changed with these communication facilities. Every week the children and the grandchildren are there in our living room, or in the kitchen or in the bedroom with the Skype. I could see, Thankamony helping Seany to cook new dishes through Skype, the kids reciting the nursery rhymes, playing in the backyard, saying bye before going to school, the new clothes they wear, the celebrations of birthdays and other occasions. The boredom of life without children around us had gone. New interests and new activities had occupied our time. I had joined a gym and Thankamony had started Yoga classes. Travelling had become a hobby. Apart from getting physical exercise, it also brought new friends. Having a sense of purpose would keep you move forward. It gives time to reflect the past. My involvement in teaching had become more aggressive, the students around me, their problems and their activities had consumed most of my time. In 2013 when I went to India, my alumni batch of 1972 had organized a get-together in Changanasserry. It was a great occasion to see some of my batch mates after forty years. Even though it was difficult to recognize some faces, there was no love lost. The memories of humor, and the mischiefs we had brought us back to the good old college days. Everybody had a lot of stories to tell about their children and grandchildren.

I had retired from teaching service in 2013. I had touched the lives of many young people in my career. Today I see many of my students as doctors, engineers, bankers, accountants, company executives and in many other walks of life. If I come across them at anytime, anywhere in the world, they still call me affectionately ‘Sebi’ my nickname. My son Sherry sent me this emotional mail as I retired from the teaching service on 31st August 2013.

Hi Dad,
I am writing this email from the plane. I had a few thoughts that I wanted to express, but never got the time to put them down into words. You finally leaving Oshwal after all these years is such a momentous occasion. After all, our lives would not be what they are today if it weren’t for that school. From that fateful day when you just decided to board a plane and go to a strange country, to the nice lady who asked you to check her bags for her and eventually led you to that school. You have talked to me so many times in the past about destiny, and what that means. I am sure you would have never thought about what your destiny would be when you were my age, and I am now at that same point in my life where I have no idea where life will take me, and I just hope for the best. Everyone works until they retire, but few stay in the same institution for 20+ years, and fewer still find that institution as a saving grace to their lives. Nowadays, kids out of college can start a job and be in it for the rest of their lives, but that doesn’t have the significance of the decisions you had to make at that point in your life 23 years ago to get to Kenya. If someone decides to find a job after graduating school and does so without hassle, then the many decades spent on that job, while significant, is not something I would call destiny. Oshwal was your destiny. A humble man from a family of 7 children, who persevered to make the most out of his own life through poverty, and struggled to give his children a better life than he had. In many ways, yours is an inspirational story, and even if you never ended up making millions in monetary value, I view your life as an extremely successful and wealthy life. Considering where you came from, and what you have achieved, you are an inspiration, and your story deserves to be told. I do hope that you finally get around to writing that book you have been talking about for so long. There are chapters in your life, experiences that you have had, that most people can only read about in books or watch in movies. You have lived through more challenges than most people have, you have faced numerous difficult decisions and all in all you wound up making the best decision towards long-term prosperity. I have been pondering about this for a little while now. All those stories you have told me about your life over the years; they were just stories to me at the time. They were just tales. However more recently, they have all come flooding back to my conscious thoughts, and I have started putting the pieces together. And when I think of everything you have achieved, I am awed. You are a great man, one of the greatest I know. While yours might not be a story of millions, yours is as inspirational of a story to me as that of Steve Jobs- someone whose life's story has inspired me for some time. Yours is equally inspiring to me. How many people have you met in your life that can say that as well? How many people have faced the types of challenges that you have faced, and come out ahead? The world is what it is now because of people like you. It may be visionaries like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs that shaped and change industries, but it is people like you who were behind people like Steve Jobs; guiding, mentoring, and supporting. I only hope I am one day able to honor all the effort you have put in over the years, and one day achieve the level of success you have achieved.

The Oshwal school did everything for your life. It gave you a house, it put your kids through school, it gave you a means to retire and enjoy the last third of your life. I know you are a ponderous man, and I know that you have been thinking about these things for the past few months. It didn’t hit me until just recently, but once I realized it, I have been extremely emotional too. I really wish, more than ever in the last 8 years, I really wish I had been able to come to Kenya this July. Just the way it is a big deal to graduate from college, and family comes to show support during graduation, so it seems to me that you have finally graduated from your destiny. You have fulfilled what God sent you out to do. You have achieved everything you possibly could, given the resources available to you. Not many people would be where you are now, given where you started. That is a great thing. I cannot say that enough, and I really wish I was there with you right now to show you my support and adoration.

You have often quoted the below poem to me. For the first time, let me quote it to you:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
Miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep."
Thank you for keeping all of your promises to us. You still have miles to go before you sleep.
I love you.
Sherry