Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/s/kDF2A3TAxn
Let me start off by saying, I know I didn’t interact much with my post, but I read so many comments and was blown away by all of the support. Thank you all so much!
I wasn’t able to elaborate much, but some more detail is that I’m unable to simply quit or take a bunch of unpaid time off. Money is beyond tight, I make $17 and some change as a CNA, and while my husband does make more than me, inflation and general cost of living is no joke. My credit is a dumpster fire after the last couple of years of medical debt and having to survive off of the available credit my husband and I do have available due to my own health issues making holding a job very difficult. I only earn a week of PTO a year, and it’s accrued over time, so I have basically no PTO available. And I haven’t been at this job long enough to take FMLA, and unfortunately even if I was able to, it’s unpaid.
Fortunately though, I was able to take a few days to be there for my dad. Financially, things will be rough for a while as we try to come back from all of this, but we’ll manage. I’m just glad I got to be with him.
My dad did pass on Thursday. I’ve kept work up to date, and services for him are scheduled for mid July. I asked how things would work, getting the day for his services off work (I specified that it was for my dad’s service). I was told to “keep in mind, just because you request a day off, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get it approved”, and I could always ask for one of my three paid bereavement days to be used for the day of his service, and just take my other 2.
So here I am, 2 days after he passed, back at work (night shift). It’s not been nearly enough time, and to be honest, I’m a wreck. The first day after he passed was spent handling the “business” side of things, such as cremation, deciding on when/where services would be, etc. Day two was to get things back on track at home with cleaning and cooking food and preparing for the work week and flipped my sleep back to night shift. Not much time to really grieve or process things, let alone be with family.
My husband is still off work (his job offers paid bereavement leave for in-laws and he was able to take paid time off from the beginning of this), combined with his regular days off, he’s getting about a week and a half off work.
Unfortunately, I don’t have much choice. I can’t afford more unpaid time off (and I’d be surprised if my job let me take any more), and I definitely can’t afford to just quit. This all just plain sucks, I miss my dad, and wish I could spend more time with my family, or at least get some time to try to wrap my head around the fact that he’s really gone. Work has made this so much harder and so much more stressful.
That’s all I have really. I just wanted to update anyone who may be interested. Thank you guys so much for all the support!