This past weekend, Columbus Day weekend, I was left home alone for a period of time. From approximately noon on Saturday to seven forty-five on Sunday evening, my father was five hours east and my mother and sister five hours west. My dog was keeping me company. At five o'clock on Saturday afternoon I dropped my dog off at one of our neighbors house and I proceeded to go to my friend's house for a sleepover as my mother did not want me sleeping at home in the big, scary, house alone. I returned home with my dog at eleven o'clock Sunday morning. Now, excluding that event, I had the entire house to myself for about... thirteen hours? Either way, I had hardly had alone time since adopting my sister from China in the first grade. The sole times being when my parents were off driving her to tae kwan do or her other activities. It's safe to say, I really hadn't had any alone time in my life.

Now, me being fifteen, my parents trusted me enough to leave me home as I didn't want to miss any school, which would have occurred had I gone with either of my parents. I made several "discoveries" in this experience. First of all, our house is big. It may not seem like it during normal daily activities but when there's one person in the kitchen and it gets dark... it's big. Second of all, I took on the responsibility to do simple household chores I would do anything not to do under normal circumstances. I did the dishes, did the laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and baked brownies for the friend who was letting me stay at her house. I made sure everything was perfect and spotless.

Normally, I would not have done anything of the sort but it left me wondering... why? Is there really any difference to being home alone? The same chores still need to be done. There's no one else to do them... I guess that takes a part but I was willing to do them. Why wouldn't I be normally?

The answer still remains unclear as I try to make sense of it but parents, if you want your children to do chores and be more responsible... try leaving them alone. Then it's up to them to decide what kind of lifestyle they want.