So as we prepare to leave on our trip, so many people have asked me what we are doing with Patrick. He would rather just stay home alone, but in case you were wondering, Malorie and Kevin are moving in for one week and Shalane and Daniel and girls the second week. He will be very well taken care of, except that he is hardly ever home with school, dryland workouts every afternoon and socializing with friends. I really think he would do just fine alone even though I think it will be better to be part of a family.
I keep thinking about when my parents would leave on vacation. I remember being 16 and they left for several days and left me with 5 other kids to be responsible for too. I do remember the Oakley's next door thought my parents were absolutely crazy and who knows maybe they wanted to call protective services, but they didn't. My parents always trusted me completely, maybe too much.
I remember another time, they went to Mexico when I was 17 and we lived in a large apartment complex that they managed and part-owned in Sunnyvale. Not only was I responsible for the 5 younger kids, but also for managing the apartments. We had a maintenance man "Earl" who was supposed to help out if anything went wrong, but he wouldn't show up for work most mornings due to hangovers. One day, one of the pools overheated and Earl and I could not figure out how to turn off the heater. Late that night I called all of my friends over to swim in the giant hot tub. We had a great time with no drinking, or any other risky behavior that a bunch of unsupervised teenagers might participate in. Looking back, maybe my parents weren't so crazy, I actually did a great job, although I probably needed a vacation when they got home.
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