Leaving home: The rest of the story...

Christy requested more about "Leaving home" so here is the rest of the story!

I actually don't remember what exactly prefaced Mason's sudden decision to pack up and leave. It seems like it was something about feeling "too little" to do something. That's been a big theme for him this summer.

Sometimes he uses the baby card and tells us he is too little for the job at hand. Sometimes it's him being told by his older siblings he's too little to do something. Sometimes it's just being told he can't do something he wants to do and he throws a fit and shows us he's too little!

Last night he came up and got in bed with me after I went to bed and said "I'm worried about 2nd grade life Mom". He wasn't sure he was ready for it. I told him that I knew he would be ready in exactly 3 weeks when school would be starting. I told him that last month he definitely wasn't ready but he was getting older and more ready every day. Today we worked on some tricky math so he could see how ready he was.

As for how I handled the running away....

Let's just say it wasn't my first time.

Carly ran away when we lived in Brigham city. She was about 6 or 7 and she got pretty upset with life at home with her tyrannical mother, her pesky little sister and her baby brother who was getting all the attention in the house with his demanding personality.

Carly packed her suitcase with a few extra clothes and a LOT of plastic food. I had recently read an article in Parent's magazine or talked to a friend about just this type of thing because I remember thinking "oh! I know just what to do... I just read about this"

I handled it the same way. I hugged her and told her I loved her and would miss her and could I fix her some food for the road.

She also was a little surprised by my acceptance of her plan. It really takes the wind out of their sails. They expect a big scene and when you don't provide one. Whoomph! Deflated.

She took her lunch and left home. She had the foresight to put on a pair of shoes. She's a much better planner than Mason!

She made it to the corner (which was a little further than Mason's stopsign) before turning around and coming home. I had the neighbors spying for me to help me make sure she was safe. She came home with the same quietness, the same annoyance that she hadn't upset me with her declaration of independence and the same realization that she wasn't quite ready to leave home just yet.

What breaks my heart is that she's getting close now. Talking about college, her own apartment, how excited she is to get out of the house and be on her own.....

I hope I can fake it as well in 2 years as I did last week. I'll hug her and say good bye. I'll tell her I'll miss her & she can come back anytime she wants. I'll make her lunch and I'll watch her drive away. Well past the stop sign. Well past the corner.