Our daughter-in-law Katrina LOVES Paris, so when she was offered an all-expenses-paid three-day trip there to join a friend celebrating her fortieth birthday, she had to go.  She hesitated to leave the kids, but Jeremy urged her to go (especially since that got him off the hook for taking her there himself).

Jeremy was happy to be the full time parent when he wasn’t working, but they needed someone to help get the kids to and from the bus stop on school days.  Who better than his brother, Uncle Seth?  Because he is on book leave from his job, Seth agreed to do the bus runs and be available for any daytime emergencies.  The kids adore their uncle.

On the first day, Uncle Seth helped the kids make their lunches and drove them to the bus stop long after Jeremy had left for work.  There were other kids at the stop, so Seth left.  Big mistake.  You are either supposed to stay with your children at the bus stop or ask another parent to watch them.  Seth explained that when he noticed that there were more kids than cars, it seemed that others had dropped off kids and left.  What he didn’t think about is that many kids live within walking distance from the bus stop.  First mistake.  Would there be others?

That turned out to be the only blunder I heard about.  The kids admitted they got some extra candy, but didn’t mention any other extra privileges or problems while under Uncle Seth’s care.

For me, my boys having quality brotherly time together warmed my heart.  Jeremy reported that Uncle Seth was “awesome” at taking care of his nephews.  For Seth, it was a taste of suburban life, so different than his New York City existence.  From all reports, he had a great time too.

The boys sounded pretty excited when we talked to them on their way to the airport to pick up their mother.  As for me, I was just relieved that all had gone well.