Did they really DO/Say that???? ... YES, they did!

Last year we in the Midwest were pelted by an ice storm. In our business it is not an option to not come to work, we have patients that meed medical items even if the weather is bad. I explain this to all employees during their interviews and that seldom, if ever will I find it acceptable to miss work due to weather. Employees always say that they agree and totally understand this... that is why I am still to this day surprised when they call in due to weather and then they are even more surprised when I tell them that the weather is not a valid reason to miss work. It is been the source of humor for me in more than one telephone conversation.
Last year during a particularly awful storm I was not my usual self and even understanding to a point when a few employees missed work. Heck, even I can get close enough to a fireplace to melt my cold heart just a tad.
Well, one of our offices had a Customer Service Rep. that was somewhat simple and a little slow on the take at times. She was very pleasant, always smiled, always had something nice to say and even spoke fondly of an ex husband. How can anyone not allow a person like this just a little wiggle room in difficult situations.
Well even she pushed me just a little too far. She phoned in on day #1 to say that she had no electricity, could not get her garage door open and had no one to stay with her young son. OK, that was acceptable but she was reminded that is was important for her to make arrangements and be at the office the next day. Day #2 came and almost went with out a peep from this employees, finally at the end of the day she phoned with a brief explanation and in her child like innocence did not see a problem with calling in at the end of the day or not being at the office all together. Day #3 came and went with no contact from this employee.
Her direct supervisor phone and briefed me on the whole situation. It was a direct violation of our company policy and I told the supervisor that I would contact HR and ensure we had the proper paperwork. I would then be at the location the next day to speak with the supervisor and that we would be terminating this employee. We all agreed.
Day #4 I arrived at the location to find the employee had returned to work and had in tow her young son. No, she did not phone her supervisor and discuss this prior to bringing him she just did it. After a brief discussion with the supervisor we agreed that the relationship with this employee could not continue and we invited the employee into my office (after making arrangements with another employee to supervise the young child).
I began by recapping the situation as it had been relayed to me and the employee agreed that it was accurate. I asked her why she had not shown up on Day #3 or phoned in at which time she stated that she really wanted to make cookies that day so she just stayed home to bake. I hate to say this but from her it almost made sense. I asked her where the cookies were and she said she did not bring any to work with her.
Well,,,, that was it. The last straw. I had to terminate at that point. All the violations and then she did not even bring cookies! What the HECK is that about! A few words of advice: AT THE VERY LEAST BRING YOUR BOSS COOKIES!!!!!!!