Grateful to have good in-laws

IT IS very rare to find good in-laws who are close to us as most of them are busy with their own lives and families.

In this regard, I am very lucky to have great sistersand brothers-in-law.

First, I come from a family of six siblings. I lost my father when I was 12 years old, and had to leave school then due to financial problems. I had to work to support my mother and siblings.

I got a job at my former school, Convent Peel Road in KL. The superior, a nun, offered me a job in the laboratory. I worked there for four years.

Then I got a job at the lab in University Hospital in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. I worked there for some time until I met my future husband in church. We got married and were blessed with three lovely children.

My husband came from a big family with seven siblings. He lost his father at a young age and started working to support his family. Later, he got his siblings married off and settled down.

Meanwhile, he saw to it that all our children were educated until university level. After their graduation, my children started working. Both my daughters are university lecturers and my son was in Malaysian Airlines. All three are married. I have three lovable grandchildren.

My husband was a happy and fun-loving man who did lots of things after retirement. He joined our church activities, attended weekly meetings and helped the needy.

However, he had a host of health problems: high blood pressure, diabetic heart disease, joint pain and kidney disease. He was on heavy dosages of medication, and was often hospitalised. In the 1990s, he went for a heart bypass.

One day, he was admitted to the National Heart Institute. He went into a coma and, after two weeks, passed away. This came as a shock to our family and relatives. While my children and some relatives made the funeral arrangements, my in-laws, close relatives and neighbours gave a big helping hand.

A close cousin of my husband’s, from Perth, Australia, stayed with us for two weeks and took care of everything. My sistersand brothers-in-law stayed until everything was settled. They organised prayers and took care of the meals for a week. They were there to console and support me when I was feeling so lost and devastated.

The youngest sister-in-law stayed back to keep me company for about a month, as I was lonely, although she has her own family back in Singapore and grandchildren to take care of.

When my eldest daughter and I went for surgery recently, my sisters-in-law Julie and Lydia came from Singapore and took turns to look after us. They cooked for us, made sure we took our medications punctually, and dressed our wounds. Because of their care, we made a speedy recovery.

My sisters- and brothers-in-law are kind, obliging and helpful. I am very lucky to have them in my life.