@retiredtraveler - I have a classic story I tell:
I loved the work I was doing in the late 1990s into 2001; I was probably putting in 60 hrs/week, including time I took home a laptop so I could work on a corporate mainframe over weekends. In January 2001, my Mom's cancer had spread, and she became hospice-eligible. I took a Family Medical Leave, to take care of her affairs, as well as get her older sister ready to move in with me. Officially when Mom died, I had to continue the leave as just personal time off, until I could get my aunt moved. And just as I was getting ready to sell Mom's house, I fell there, breaking my right heel .. not covered as "paid sick time" as part of an unpaid leave. I couldn't return to work until mid-July. I was anxious to get back to work, but still building up my stamina walking.
My first day back on the job, my boss - newly assigned my group - informed me I had to go for training in another plant location. Having to find parking midday was impossible, and I just couldn't walk from a far-out spot. I asked to drive directly there to take the class the following morning, and my boss balked .. that day just happened to be the deadline for the class. I said, "I've been out on leave 7 months, and could easily have come back tomorrow or the next day; would I have been penalized for being automatically "late" for training I knew nothing about?! I'll take full responsibility, if anyone complains that I took it past the deadline" He just looked at me. That was the moment .. after 7 months out .. I decided to retire, because I couldn't believe that a manager didn't have the balls to make a better common-sense decision!
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