((Hugs))
You have to remember, that the bosses being the bosses does not mean they are in any way fit to run a business, it just means they are trying to do so. Many's the time management just doesn't see a good worker, or throws away a perfectly good working system, just in the search for something or someone who is more "with it". Stupidity always wears the most fashionable clothes, and its pride in that is all there is to it.
I daresay they may have been afraid of further healthcare insurance costs or loss of working time, and you are thinking at the back of your mind, is this going to keep on happening with other prospective employers ? But the answer really is no, because only a fool borrows trouble from tomorrow. Yes, bosses need to be cautious, but any new worker may have who knows what health problems a week on Tuesday. That is what healthcare insurance is for. At least with you they had a known quantity, someone who was trained up, enthusiastic and conscientious. Someone who wants to come to work for the love of it. How rare is that !
Companies who ignore the possible advantages of win/lose situations are not going to compete well, particularly when the economy is bad; that's where the money is made. Any bosses who might not want to employ you would be filtering out the bad jobs for you.
It's a hard thing to learn, but it's always good to be able to take a little emotional step back from your work sometimes and say, "They're screwing up, more fool them, oh well it doesn't make any difference to how good I am".
They have not discarded you - they have LOST you.
And now you are off the leash, without the millstone of that two hours of driving and lousy management to deal with. You've got all the abilities you used in your last job, all the experience, plus all the underutilised ideas and skills that were going to waste. You don't even need to stay in the same field; there is no industry where they are not looking for someone with get up and go - Go gettem, Trigirl !
