Finally, after 6 weeks and one day, I am off Jury Service. I appreciate that people need to do it, and that we need a cross section, rather than those for whom it may be convenient, and that everyone charged has the right to a fair trial, but sometimes, you wonder who is on trial. I have had 6 weeks at right angles to my life, with things going on as normal, but where I have been sitting with different priorities. Without going into details, the trial has been complex, and we can't forget that this is not a logic puzzle; that the people accused, giving evidence, and referred to are all real people, and all have a lot hanging on what the Jury eventually decides. It's taught me a lot about myself - I thought until very recently that I was quite good at dealing with things, that I could divorce myself from what was happening, but that has proved impossible. I became emotionally involved, and have really felt under a strain. I have spent a lot of the afternoon crying, which came as a surprise to me.
Now I am finished, I need to pick up my life and put the pieces back into place. It's going to be hard to click back in. It's as if I have to forget about this, and let go of the last 6 weeks of my life, where I have eaten, slept and breathed nothing but this trial, shared with 11 other people who I became close to, but will now probably not see again. It's Jon's birthday tonight, so we will be celebrating quietly, free of this hanging over us, which is good. The support I have had from Jon, my family and my friends (both "real world" and "online" has got me through this - so thank you - if you are reading this, you probably count in one of those categories).
So - I can let all the detailled data ooze out of my mind, and get on with making honey and lime glazed chicken for Jon's Birthday Tea!
3 comments:
Welcome back to the world, Claire - sounds like you've been on a therapeutic retreat - an emotional rollercoaster at the very least. But if what you've written is any indication of how it was, then it sounds like you made a grand job of a difficult task?!
What an emotional time you have had, I'm glad that it all ended in time for you to let things go and enjoy Jon's birthday in style. The description of the meal you had planned has me feeling hungry :) Hope you had a wonderful evening.
Have a great long weekend.
Hope you are recovering from your ordeal by now. I've never done jury service before but I can well imagine that, with a complex case, and a lot hanging on the jury's decision, it would be an extremely difficult period and six weeks is a long time with all that going through your head interminably. Now you can put it all behind you and move on and I hope that you had a lovely peaceful evening on Jon's birthday.
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