11 November 2010 was a mixed blessings day. The good news, Jordan got his UPSR results - 4As, 2Bs and 1C. We are all happy with his achievement. It wasn't what we set out for him (5As, 2Bs) but we know we all tried our level best to get to what he got. Had he been in a national type school, he would have gotten straight As.
The bad news, we finally saw a labour lawyer to explain the outcome of our case against Shell for unfair dismissal, given today's reality, with the Judiciary going for clearing of backlogs in court and the Ministry of Human Resource doing the same for Industrial Court proceedings. The Minister did not refer my case to Industrial Court, no reason was provided and no room for appeal against the decision unless we bring it up to High Court for challenge that my case has merits.
The lawyer explained the hurdles which I will face in pursuing it further, mainly the legal costs, the likelihood that Shell will do everything it can to block the case, despite the fact that by law, my case has its merits to be referred to industrial court.
Of course, I am saddened, disappointed at the outcome of two years of wait. We thought we had a good chance of seeing Shell in the industrial court. However, that was not meant to be. There were a couple of crisis.
Sometime in August, Derrick was diagnosed with bladder cancer, had an operation to remove the tumour on 16 September, had to be re-hospitalized due to complications a week after. The non-reference letter from the Ministry of Human Resources came during that difficult time when I had to take over the complete running of our home (just before Jordan's UPSR exams September 21-23) as Derrick was in the hospital.
Further to this, we were not able to reach our paralegal Mr Stanley for counsel the whole of October as he was admitted into National Heart Institute for heart complications. He suffered a heart attack, was in a coma and finally passed away on Sunday 30 October.
Walking out of the lawyer's office, I almost broke down but I came to accept the fact that there is a closure, not a closure I would have wanted, but a closure nonetheless. It was a day that the sun shone and it rained showers of blessings.
The blessings are many. I have Derrick and three fine boys. Jordan did quite well in his UPSR. There is acceptance in my life as I treasure each moment I have with my family. I have a house which I call a home, not much but a home. I have a caring 90-year old father and supporting siblings (special thanks to my sister Margaret and her husband Staffan for their great support when Derrick was in the hospital).
For two years, I am a stay home mom with depression. I have made new friends, especially the support group at MMHA. My memory may not be at its best but I manage. We have home cooked food most evenings as I have learned to cook quite well. I do most of the chores at home while Derrick takes care of busing the boys to school and tuition (which is many trips in a day) as well as the marketing.
So there is a closure to an episode in my life. Life goes on.
Friday, November 12, 2010
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