Thank you Midnight Rider for the suggestion. As a kid, were you a "free range kid" out of the house and doing whatever

[hunter]

41. Completely feral, but with accurate and explicit instruction on how not to die.

Much more explicit than any other kid I knew got.

My dad would be at work or night school or fishing and my mom would be hammering away at her typewriter, God save anyone who interrupted her.

We were expected to make our own breakfast and lunch, sometimes dinners, do our own laundry, and look after one another.

My parents grew up in a similar fashion, my mom in much more dangerous environments, either gritty urban environments or shipped off to her grandparents' ranch which was about as far away from civilization as you could get in the 48 states.

I guess my mom figured we were safe in the suburbs.

When we did spend family time together it was high quality time, especially travelling, which we did quite a lot of. My parents behaved much like feral children themselves when we were traveling, they never had any fixed itinerary.