I'm still second guessing it, but I think it was the right thing to do.

It was absolutely the right thing to do. You have a job lined up, your health and your mother's health are a top priority. Oh, and baking cookies for your husband like a good little housewifey.

Where do some of you people find these bosses? I've only had two complete asswipes for bosses in my life and they weren't even this bad.

Good luck to you and ENJOY this unexpected vacation!!

you did the right thing from my perspective

That really helps. I'm sitting here FREAKING out. But I know I did the right thing, it just helps hearing it from unbiased third parties. LOL

I took maternity leave five years ago and never went back ...

Best thing I ever did. I have 2 children, ages almost 9 and 5. Now I am to the point where the baby will be in kinder next year, and I may well explore part-time or full-time options for returning to the workforce (if I could find something - I know the market has changed substantially). We were lucky to have my husband's good job, and I can pass on things like new cars/clothes etc while I'm at home. I'm actually quite pleased my old Subaru has lasted so long - that was a very good purchase 10 years ago.

I'm an older mom & worked for many years (and tons of O/T too) before I had my first baby at 36 and started slowing down a bit. The capitalists will work you to death if you let them.

I will be thinking of your mom and hope she is feeling better soon.

This will give you time to relax and clear your head before starting your new job.

I hope your mom is better.

As a long-time manager of people I found that if I made it clear to employees up front that I respected their needs to be mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, etc., that the employees in turn respected my need for them to get their jobs done.

For the most part, I managed people who did not have to conform to a strict schedule, which obviously helped. I gave them all the latitude I could. They responded by exceeding my expectations almost every day.

Regardless of the nature of work, if my employer cannot respect my needs, I don't want to work there anyway.

...and they did not approve my surgery and illness caused by my gallbladder to be excused, so I was on my "final write up". When I took mom to the ER yesterday, even after warning my boss that she was getting bad and I would probably have to take to the ER occasionally at random, it didn't matter. I was going to be sacked. So I took my dignity and walked away.
I feel guilty. Can't figure out why. I feel like a hippo is sitting on my chest, but that feeling is going away as I drink this glass of Asti.
Seven years I was a good employee, and the beginning of one year ruins it. It's OK. I was tired of selling off people's dreams and evicting them from their homes. It is time to do something to help people. I just really hope this doesn't hurt my getting this other job...

Even when I didn't have anything else lined up because it was literally killing me. I wound up spending almost 1/4 of the year I walked in one hospital or another. That was not a good year - it was also the year that Grandma left us.

and helping her also provided a route for you to a better place to work.
If it was a small employer they have a balancing act to keep things running, but they can't expect people to ignore health problems.

But my desk wasn't anything they couldn't have handled. I sent my manager an email and explained what was going on. Expressed gratitude and was kind except for when it came to HR...then I said goodbye, grabbed my box and walked out.
Apparently it was quite the happening. Everyone is talking about it this morning. LOL

Now, you can take some time to purge all the bad feelings from your past job, and start your new one fresh and ready to go.

She said she liked that I'd been there for 7 years. How do I tell her what I did without making her question my actions?

You don't really even know what your new boss will be like, so maybe you should wait until she proves herself trustworthy enough for you to trust. In these times there's no reason to start thinking you need to be loyal to a company or people you don't know. Just be professional and that'll be more than they can ask for.

You did the right thing.

You deserve to be congratulated!

I really mean that.

I'm feeling much better since I told my mother.

To prevent things like this. I'm glad you're out of there; it sounds as if that job was a soul-killer.

Is there anyway you could sue? I think that employer needs a wake up call.

...they said I used it all. Thing is I looked back and I hadn't. You're supposed to get 12 weeks. The way they do it is what you used last year is what you get THIS year. SO wrong.
I'm not going to sue. It's not worth the trouble.

You did right to walk away. Those people are assholes. I had an account with them for 20 years, and when I couldn't find work and had no money in the bank, they closed my account--but oh, wait, they took the first direct deposit I had from my new job! I went to get money out of my account, and there was none. I went in and had a GD screaming fit and was told, "take your money, we don't want your business." Assholes.

Anyway, enjoy your two weeks, it sounds like you could use a break.

BTW--I would file a complaint with the State Department of Labor or whatever about the FMLA. They are clearly violating the law. Let them suffer for a while having to provide all that documentation....

I'm going to leave my money there for a little bit until I find out if the State has a credit union with special benefits before I move anything, but I am closing two of the accounts I have, and will just have the one checking account.

Not to get any money, but to keep them from pulling this crap on some other poor soul.

It takes guts to just say "Take this job and shove it, I ain't workin' here no more!"
Gotta make you feel good.

Best of luck.
I'm damned proud of you.

Like I said, I feel much better about the whole thing now that I've told my mother.
I'll be able to start learning my new job sooner. I'm very excited and terrified at the same time.

You should have MADE them fire you.


You might be NOT eligible for unemployment now.

Oh. You HAVE another job. NeverMIND!

YOUROCK!

I should have made them fire me anyway so that I could get at least a couple of weeks worth, but oh well. I'm feeling empowered now. Fuck em.

What strikes me is that you even had to second guess yourself.
It shows how messed up things are today in the work force.
And, I still feel the same...Good for you!

Good for you!

"Leap and the net will appear."
--John Burroughs

That's the part I'm most nervous about.

Sounds like they're trying to screw you over on FMLA, and that cannot stand. Good luck to you.