We jokingly told freshly-minted 8-year-old Owen the other day we may leave him behind when the rest of us go out of town for Spring Break. He then surprised us by reeling off a list of the things he would do if left to his own devices for a couple of days. These included sneaking into the cookie and candy jars, watching an R-rated movie, eating popcorn, playing with Star Wars Legos, and having his best friend over to watch YouTube videos featuring Lego figures and bad words. I imagine his failure to mention playing endless hours of Wii was simply an oversight. Not a bad list, and I get that he is 8, but he did not exactly make us feel like we are trudging down a path that leads to leaving him in charge of his younger siblings in a mere handful of years.
Four year old Cooper's take on what he would do if left alone: break some of our house rules. I can live with that to an extent - stand on the couch all you want pal, but no bare butts on the table (sad that we have had to articulate a rule for that one, but we have).
Four year old Hayden's take on what he would do if left alone: he would take some money from my wallet, go to the store, buy some ham, come home and eat it, and then do the dishes. Please note that we are doing nothing currently that prevents Hayden from eating all the ham he wants, or from doing the dishes for that matter, yet he seems to show no inclination to do either on any regular basis. We do discourage pilfering from parental wallets and unaccompanied trips by four year olds to the store however, so maybe the appeal to him of this little scenario lies in those. Strange kid.
At any rate, it is apparent that all of the guys have a ways to go in the personal responsibility department. If anyone does want to make plans to meet us out for a drink or dinner, we are now booking dates for 2031, when we anticipate being able to leave the boys alone and unsupervised.
