My daughter Emilie and I had a disagreement. It ended in my favor so Emilie decided to do what most five year olds would do in a similar situation. She decided to run away from home.
She packed her little pink suitcase full of Barbie’s, her teddy bear and a change of clothes. She walked into the kitchen carrying her suitcase and announced that she was ready to leave. I told her I would miss her. I also told her that she might get hungry so I offered to make her a peanut butter sandwich. She accepted. She stood in silence while I slowly made the sandwich. I handed it to her and told her goodbye.
With her head hung low she headed toward the door. Her little hand turned the knob and she stepped outside. I watched from the window as she walked to the circle in the middle of our cul-de-sac and climbed onto the bench that’s found there. Her little feet swung back and forth as she sat there with her teddy under her arm.
After about fifteen minutes she climbed off of the bench and made her way back to the house. I quickly moved away from the window and back into the kitchen, pretending to be busy. She walked up to me and said that she had changed her mind and wouldn’t be running away from home. I turned around, smiled at her, gave her a hug and told her that I love her.
I’ve often wondered if it was because I gave her permission to run away that Emilie never did it again.
No comments:
Post a Comment