Home Alone

Whenever a family vacation happens, everyone goes. This has happened for years from as young as before Kindergarten to as old as University graduate. If one member of the family couldn't make it, then the whole trip was cancelled or moved until all of us could go.

That is, until this year where my siblings and I insisted (more than usual) that my parents take some time off for themselves and go on a vacation alone. And after much prodding, they did. For the next few weeks my parents are on a cruise that will make numerous stops around Asia by themselves.

Which means I'm essentially left alone to my own vices.

Aka. This.

So far, I haven't starved to death. Or slept in to the point where I miss my shift at work. Or set myself on fire. I think this means I am a fully functioning and capable adult human. My parents were really worried that my siblings and I would kill one another while they were gone. While this may have been true when we were younger, I don't think it applies anymore.

We mostly keep to ourselves and do our own thing. We go to work and come home at different times. Go out and do our own things. No one questions each other. It's really nice. I imagine this is exactly what living with roommates would be like. Except my roommates actually pick up after themselves and share their food with me.

Everyone wins.

No one bothers me while I'm on my computer either.

If there is one issue we've been having, it's our overly worried Grandmother. She calls us A LOT. As in, sometimes over a dozen times in a day to check up on us. The sad thing is that often, no one is home. So we come home to numerous voice messages asking where we are.

It's also a bit worrying because she keeps asking us when we're free because she wants to take us out to lunch. The problem is that we keep telling her that we're all busy and none of us are all free on the same day. So she acknowledges that. Ok, no problem.

And then asks when are we free for lunch. We're busy. Ok, no problem.

So, when are you guys free for lunch?

Are you guys free? I'd like to take you out to lunch.

Makes me wish my Cantonese was better.

Alzheimer's does run in my Mom's side of my family, and my Grandmother's sister recently died of the disease. So we're all very worried about my Grandmother but we're not really sure what else we can do for her. She's kind of like me, really stubborn. And it's not like we can force her to do Sudoku.

Hopefully my Grandmother gets better. And I'm going to continue to enjoy my freedom while it lasts.