As a result of the failure of the separation of the federal government's powers, the government shut down on October 1st. Patrick went into work just long enough to turn on his out of office messages and he hasn't been back since. A bill was passed last week ensuring he will be paid (eventually) but the damage has been done as far as the world stage goes.
Patrick loves working for the Peace Corps and he enjoys his coworkers so being away from work wasn't exactly a vacation. That said, he got to have breakfast with the kids each day, take them to/from school, go on a field trip with Will, co-op at Will's school, and do tons of housework and yard work.
