Update

My five-year-old decided not to leave after all, a decision he actually made on Sunday afternoon. He didn't say why, he just came to me and said, "I've decided not to leave." So you can imagine how relieved we all are, though the prospect of only having to provide for three children was starting to grow on us a little. But we're glad to have him back (even though he never really left.) My eight-year-old got angry the same day and threatened to leave as well, but after the episode with his brother, it just didn't have much impact on us. We really are ogres, you know. I mean, imagine making a kid do the dishes or clean their room. We ought to be locked up. Such terrible abuse should never be allowed to go on as long as this has.