Returning to work after caring for family

I stepped out for 8 months to care for a family member and now want to return. This is my first time dealing with any of this. I want flexible hours. What helped?

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It saved me later.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 8 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.