Hi.

At the start of this year (2021) my mum was taken in to hospital and was eventually diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which cannot be treated. She has been given a "small number of months" to live. 

I am in a position where I do not need to go to work currently - my employer has been great and has said I can have as much time off as I need. Since mid January I've been off work and staying at home with mum, and my dad and brother.

I'm coming to the point where I'm wondering when I should go back to work. The problem I have is, I don't know exactly how much time mum has left. It could be 3-4 weeks, but equally it could be 10+ weeks. I'm under no pressure from my employer to go back, but it feels like if I'm off for months then maybe it's a bit excessive?

I love my job and don't want to 'lose touch' with it or become distant with my fellow employees. But I also love mum and I want to get the balance right and not have any regrets. My employer has said I can come back and just do 1-2 days per week if I want. It's entirely up to me. Another thing to mention is that my work is a couple of hours drive from home (I have a flat near work), so it makes it a bit trickier as I'd be away from home overnight. 
 

Has anyone been in a similar situation? I just don't know what to do. I'm so grateful to have time off but I don't want to "take the ***" and it's made so much harder by not knowing exactly how long we have left with mum. 
 

thanks for any help/advice you can offer.