The Runaway

Ty ran away for the first time today.

He was upset that he had to take pictures with Travis, Angela and Jack this morning (Adrian's cousin and his family). He got his feelings hurt when I said that he looked like a "mean little boy" in all the shots. He cried, and we had a short talk (I probably wasnt as compassionate as I should have been, I was quite frustrated with his crying, whining, ruining pictures by putting his hand in front of his face, trying to stand behind me, not sitting/standing where we told him, etc.).

He went to his room to cool off, and returned with his blankie and his bear. We were all outside seeing off our guests when he told us he was leaving.

Okay ..."where are you going?" I asked, a little sad and also amused at the same time.

"Somewhere where they dont make me take any pictures."

Oh, well .."okay, see you later." I said calmly. (my mind is screaming, HOW THE HECK DO I HANDLE THIS LITTLE TIDBIT?!).

He walked very slowly down the sidewalk dragging his blankie. He kept looking back, and we would wave. He would turn and walk a few more steps and then check to see if we were missing him yet. At one point he ran back towards us as a we saw a flying object coming toward him (since the wasp sting this summer all flying objects are a source of fear for Ty), then he went back the way he was heading once the frightening creature had left.

All the while, Adrian and I were waiting on the driveway saying goodbye to family and wondering at what point we were gonna haul his little behind home.

Finally, after about 10 minutes and three houses between us (in our line of site the entire time). He turned around and booked it home. We didnt make a huge deal when he came back, but hugged him when he came to hug us.

After we got the family off, Ty and I had a talk on the couch. Here is what I gleaned,

* He got the idea from "Little Bill" - a show on Noggin of all places. This did not surprise me because I remember that episode because I thought "great, teach them that if they runaway because they dont like something that is happening, everyone will make a big surprise party for you when you come home."

* His plan, "to go to Joey's"

* His eating plan, "well, Dana would feed me."

* His transportation plan, "walk." When I explained that would take him several days, he asked "will you drive me?" No.

* His overnight plans (because it would awhile to get to Joey's I explained), "get a room at a hotel." ...I also explained that they dont give little boys rooms at hotels. "Well, I will just tell them I was running away." I guess he was going to appeal to their compassion?

We talked abit more and determined that running away was not the solution to our problems, especially when we just dont want to do what we are told. We explained that if you are upset you go and calm down first in your room, then come and talk to mommy and daddy about it. Running away is not safe and not the right thing to do in these situations. I also had to apologize for "hurting my feelings."

Geez. This is hard.