This happened when I was really young. I'm talking second or third grade.

It's hard for me to remember things clearly from that long ago, but this memory stands out for reasons you'll soon understand.

It was a school day, and it had been raining cats and dogs all day.

After picking me up from school, my parents left the house for some upscale events.

I can't remember if it was a fundraiser or a dinner party or something else entirely.

Either way, they were supposed to come back home that night.

But while they were gone, the storm picked up like crazy,

and it became unsafe to drive long distances.

So instead of driving back home,

they reluctantly decided to spend the night at one of their friends' houses

who lived much closer to where the event was.

I remember them calling me on the house phone

and repeatedly apologizing for leaving me there by myself, even though I insisted that I wasn't even hungry and I'd be fine.

My mom gave me a list of things to do before bed.

Lock all the doors and windows, keep at least one house light on, make sure all the blinds were closed, typical stuff.

At the time, I didn't understand why they were making such a big deal about everything.

I wasn't quite old enough to realize how important it was to not leave kids my age home alone.

In fact, I was actually kind of excited to have the place to myself.

It meant unlimited candy and no bedtime.

I obviously didn't have a TV or any kind of screen in

my room, so I stayed downstairs in the living room watching TV on the couch. I told myself I

do all that stuff my mom had requested right before going to sleep, since I was planning on staying

...