As a mom, I’d like to side with you. I’ve had the kids. I know the inconvenience of every single sneeze, headache, flu, and lost key…times three. But as a mom, I can’t. Because I know the inconvenience, and I know you still have to make it workable…times three. Three. Three children, now all teenagers with sudden calls from the school (I lost this, I forgot that, I puked in the hallway, I got a detention). Yes your kids come first, but part of that includes holding down a job to ensure you can provide for them.

Id like to side with you because I’m a mom, and I know how expensive that is…times three. But as a mom, I can’t. Because I know how expensive life is with three children and at no point could I justify taking a job that didn’t even cover my housing expenses let alone any other necessities. As a mom, I know how much I need to survive, and taking on a 300% loan when I can’t even afford rent would be financial suicide.

I’d like to side with you because I’m a mom and I know what it’s like to walk into work so sick you can barely move, but you’ve run out of sick leave, or you’ve made a commitment and have no other choice. But I can’t, because as a mom I know that’s a sacrifice I have to make at times, because fair or not… I have three kids that need to come first, and that means supporting them, not breaking policy because I’m a mom and it should be allowed.

I’d like to support you as a mom, because I remember the moment I rushed out of work as my SO’s boss informed me he was in route to the ER for what they believed was a heart attack. I had three kids at work with me, in the middle of a huge project that had been in planning for months, and was at the success/failure point at that moment. I returned to work, because standing idle in a waiting room after the first 4hrs was pointless. And as an adult, I understood that my 24/7 watch over him was for my benefit. The nurses/doctors 24/7 watch over him was for his. I let them do their job, as I did mine.

I’d like to support you because I’m a mom. But, as a mom, I know 10 days out of 60 is huge, regardless of the excuses out forth. You broke the agreement with the company, and as a mom… I find you using your mom status to not just justify it but to use it as some sort of badge of entitlement dreadful.

I’d like to side with you because I’m a mom. But I am a mom, and my 18yrs as a mother has taught me to manage my children, my bills, and my career. It’s taught me that sometimes you have to follow rules, sometimes you have to follow common sense. You didn’t seem to do either.

You, like the other girl talia jane took financial risks that were niave to say the least, reckless and inexcusable to be honest. You bet on working for a company that couldn’t or wouldn’t pay enough to cover your basic costs of living. The big difference is that it appears, despite her complaints about the salary she knowingly accepted, is that she lived up to her side of the work…she was showing up and doing her job. You were off being a mom, a person, a girlfriend. It’s not that I don’t feel for you both, I do…but my sympathy is over the fact that both of you sold yourself short financially taking positions that couldn’t ever cover your needs. It’s that you failed to plan how you’d survive (without help). It’s how you were both financially irresponsible taking loans, maxing credit cards…knowing your wages would not make ends meet.

Everyone has sad work stories. Every has had a bad boss. But there’s a difference between what you’ve experienced here, which is a sad story of repeated misjudgement on your part, and the idea of an evil evil company you are trying to sell to us. That’s not to say Yelp isn’t evil, it’s just that in your story- the problem seems to lie more with your decision making skills than with Yelp. Yes your story is sad, yes I feel for you and remember how difficult life can be. But our life difficulties don’t always give us free passes. You had a work policy, and you failed to follow it. Your situation is sad, but it’s not Yelps fault your kid lost your keys, or you were sick, or your BF was injured. And it’s not their responsibility to fix your problems, or look the other way when you fail to meet standards.

PS: The mom card, as is the single mom card really was pulled a lot. Wasn’t it? Are we more entitled than our non parent coworkers? Because THAT would actually be unfair.