good things happen, unexpectedly

Two weeks ago, I tendered my resignation. I just couldn’t handle the time anymore, and my mind was preoccupied with how to go about with mom’s sickness and dad’s lifetime medications.

I was still on probation, and I was just with the company for barely two months. I am not even a doctor, so nothing about me was indispensable to the company. I thought of it for several days, and one Wednesday, I wrote a long letter asking for deferment of employment because I wanted to somehow stay with my sick mother at home until she finishes her chemotherapy, and to somehow let my father rest from time to time. I said that if it’s no longer possible, the same letter is tendering my resignation.

To my surprise, the bosses in the States immediately answered my letter. They said that they would arrange the schedule to accomodate the off time I need (work on a temporary part-time basis) or they could grant me a medical leave. I was so happy to read the letter! I chose the first option, to work on MWFs. It was a burden off my chest; at least, I would still have a stable income. The social security benefits and other leaves and holiday pays were still there, in proportion to my working hours. Isn’t that great? In my old company, I filed leave to be with mom through the first weeks of her treatment. Because one of the operations was postponed, I was absent the day after my filed leave. In that operation, we would know if the cancer has spread to other parts of her body. And while she was in the operating room, my old boss sent me a text message telling me that I am considered resigned because I was absent after my leave. Wow. That was the first day after my leave and resigned already? Well, in the end, I only filed a leave extension. But his inconsideration would be unforgettable.

Anyway, because of their surprising, positive response, I felt that, amidst all the problems, good things still do happen, sometimes unexpectedly.