Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The day our world turned upside down

This has been one of the hardest things we have ever done.  Let me explain.  For those of you who don't know me in person or are not in contact with me on Facebook may not understand.  On Thursday, July 12, 2012 Rob was dismissed from his job with the Northwest Company.  He was the manager of the Northern Store in Ile a la Crosse, Saskatchewan for 4 years.  On that Thursday, he was visited by his district manager and HR manager when they dropped the bomb that he was "no longer the right fit" for the company and he was dismissed effective immediately.  Yep, IMMEDIATELY.  As of 2PM that afternoon, he was unemployed and we had 7 days to vacate the house we had called home for 4 years.  It still chokes me up to think about it.  There was no indication what so ever that his job was in jeopardy.  He was performing well, his store was doing well, and to say we were shocked was the understatement of the year.  The community outpouring of support for us was out of this world.  It was within an hour that the first person showed up, in shock.  And then another, and another and another.  So many that we ended up leaving that night because I couldn't cry anymore and we had to make a plan of what the hell we were going to do.  We decided we would immediately have to start selling our large items, the first being the boat we had just bought and both loved.  Rob was adament that he was not going to sell his quad or his motorcycle, so we bought a 12ft cargo trailer to haul back what we could.  And from Friday morning to Sunday evening we packed.  And purged.  And sold. And cried.  Sometimes all at the same time.  Our friends were amazing, and were there for us from the time we heard the news to the time we left.  The only time they were not there was when we were sleeping.  We had more people offer their homes to us so we didn't have to leave the community.  A petition was started within an hour of him being dismissed to get him to stay.  People of the community started calling and emailing the head office of the Northwest Company voicing their upset with the decision.  They threatened to boycott the store (which many did).  The MAYOR of the town called Rob as soon as he found out when we left town for a night and then stopped over the next day.  I don't think I have ever seen him so mad.  The community came together and had a potluck supper for us the night before we left.  There was over 100 people there (many people were out of town on a pilgrimage or there would have been more) and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.  The elder who spoke there stood up and said "You belong to us.   You belong to this community and we want you back.  There is no word in our language for goodbye because we do not believe it in.  This is So Long for now".  We believe there is more to this story and we will probably never know the real answer.  Rob was offered a severance package from the company, so we were able to move back to Nova Scotia and not worry about having the money to get here.  Fortunately for us the money that we made when we sold most of our stuff was enough to hold us over until we received his severance, which we did when we were 3 days into our trip. We have moved in with my mom, which will work out really well for all of us.  The boys are happy to be back amongst family.  I have a hole in my heart where the town of Ile a la Crosse will always be, and although we may never live there again, we will certainly be back there to visit.  My dream is to win the lottery and build a summer home in Ile a la Crosse, with my own plane so I can go there whenever I want.  All I can say is that we are taking this as a new chapter in our life, and I will never lose contact with our Metis family in the north.  So much that I had planned on getting a tattoo of a pelican on my arm, and now I think I still will but there will be a Metis sash there also, so I will always have a visual reminder of my home away from home on my arm.

24 comments:

Matt, Kara, Hunter and Cavan said...

So unreal that they would dismiss him like that.

:(

And I am super sad that you are even farther away.

Sarah said...

So sad to hear this... wishing you and your family peace as you start a new chapter in your lives.

:)

Anonymous said...

Wow, I'm so shocked to read this. I think its truly disgusting how one person can make a decision that has such a profound effect on other people. I know the feeling. Such people are ignorant buffoons and deserve all the scorn they get. Best of luck in your future. If anything, life in northern remote places tends to make one incredibly resilient as I know from personal experience and have no doubt that you are too.

Best of luck!

Scratchings in the Dirt said...

Such a sudden, tragic thing - I'm still reeling a bit myself! Can't imagine how you're feeling. And I'm so sad that we didn't get to meet in person - we came so close!

However, I firmly believe that things happen for a reason, and while you may not see it yet, there will be a blessing.

Take care, my friend. We will continue to stay in touch via internet!!

Tammy said...

That is SO messed up! I showed this to my husband and we are both in shock. We also both agree that this is one of the main reasons we will never move back to Canada. I don't think after living here (where there are very strict rules and methods for letting someone go) that we could live without that kind of job security.

On the other hand, I'm not sure any community here would be there in the way yours was. That was truly amazing.

I'm sure your families are happy to have you back, even if it is under such horrible circumstances.

Hope it all works out!

cpf said...

That's terrible! I can't imagine why it was so sudden, too, especially considering the practicalities of moving out of a place you've lived in for years. Hopefully you can make the change work to your advantage, though, as it looks like you already have.

Anonymous said...

Wishing your family the very best ahead.

Morena said...

Wow. I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how scary and sad that must be for your family. I'm happy that you've at least got your family in the maritimes to fall back on. I'm sure its the last thing you want to hear but I have no doubt that this happened for a reason and your next adventure is just around the corner. Good luck. Keep us posted.

jen said...

Oh Tina, shed a few tears for you reading this! You know you guys will find your way. Your strong and positive and nothing can hold you back!

Anonymous said...

The other side of the rainbow

Matilda Delaporte said...

bridge happiness

love to you

Matilda Delaporte

Megan said...

Oh, my God. I have been out of it for the last week or so and am just coming to this. I am so sorry to hear this.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness Tina! I had my son early by 10 1/2 weeks this spring so I'm slowly catching up on all my favorite blogs. What a great community you lived in.

Shanlee

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This year she wanted to have a sock monkey party that, what is that I can hear you asking?

Well, as it turns out it is sitting around with a bunch of other girls stuffing and sewing sock monkeys while watching I Love Lucy on the TV. All I had to do was sew up all the socks on the sewing machine before the the party.

The star of the party was the sock monkey cake that we ordered. We don't usually buy a birthday cake, so the birthday girl was very impressed by the cake.

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