Running away

this morning after having asked Sariah (the 4 year old) for the fourth time to quite playing and do her chores she burst into tears true to her dramatic nature and said "I don't want you for a mom anymore! I want a nice mom, not a mean one".
"Sariah, why do you think I am a mean mom?"
"Because you yell at me"
"why do I yeall at you?"
"Because I don't do my chores".
"So, what do you need to do if you don't want me to yell at you"?
"I don't care! I just dont want to live here anymore"!
I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't you go pack your suitcase and find another home that will love you more".
So, off she goes up the stairs, crying the whole way. Isaac asks why she is crying and upon her telling him her reasoning he bursts out into tears. "But we love you! Who will take care of you and love you! Where will you go?" and on and on and on....
Now let me take you back to a time when this same child was four and we had almost the exact same conversation word for word.
He ended up backing his bag and leaving the house and got as far as the front porch where he sat on the bench for a good ten minutes. As I remember it was cold that day also and he was in P.J's.
He was so distraught that I had to pull him aside and ensure him that we were pretending but not to let her know that. I reminded him of how he had done the same thing and was still a happy member of our family.
She puts a bow in her hair (couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to) and soberly walks down the stairs with suitcase in hand. After a tearfull goodbye to her family members she puts on her shoes (But of course, forgets her coat) and walks out the door.
At this point the older boys are stationed at the windows and I am rushing to put on coat and shoes to follow her. Upon going outside there is a moment of panic when I realize she is not there. Where the heck could she have gone in such a short amoount of time? I look down the side of the house fully expecting to see her, nope. Continue on down the side walk when I realize that she is knocking on the neighbors door. Wow, got to give this child kudos for having bravery!
The woman opens the door and then sends her on her way. She continues to walk down the sidewalk going to the next two houses. I so badly want to take a picture but can't abandon my post for fear of not knowing where she has gone. Just imagine the little girl with a pink suitcase in her jammies walking in the rain, carrying a pink princess suitcase... adorable, or pathetic...
Not sure if the next houses answer or not... I can't see them. Now you have to understand that our neighbors barely speak english and we have never met any of these people in the five years we have lived here. That's our neighborhood for you, but that's another blog entirely.
Now the couple that live on the corner and across the street are out loading their car and I am interested in seeing how she solves this one. She marches across the street right up to them and starts a conversation. At this point I am imagining the police being called and trying to decide how far I am going to let this little charade go.
Before I have a chance to decide I peak around the corner and see the woman take her hanc and her point to the house.
I run inside and ask the boys if they are coming back to which they respond "Yes!" from their upstairs window advantage point.
Sure enough there is a knock and a little Asian woman is asking if this is my daughter. With a smile I assure her that is and tell her that we are very sad because Sariah has chosen to run away (winking like crazy hoping this woman will understand and not call the cops). I ask Sariah if she would like to live with us after all and she runs to hug my legs.
After thanking the woman we all surround Sariah and she is so happy and relieved that she is crying and laughing at the same time. We assure her that we missed her and loved her and that we hope she will choose to remain a part of our family forever. Then the boys go to change her wet clothes and get her dry.
Concluding this adventure and bringing me to another....
I was looking at Seri's facebook over her shoulder one day and she was having a conversation about running away. Apparently she has run away twice. Both during that year we were having such problems with her. The teen years... what else can you say?
I look at her in astonishment. What? I had no idea you had ever run away. She then asks if I remember the time when she was reading all of those wilderness survival books and studying up on hunting and first aid and such. I respond that yes, I remember that phase. She then gives me a look that says "duh, well what do you think I was studying that for?" Well, I thought you were studying and actually listed it in your curriculum taking advantage of your interest.
Nope, she had waited till we were all asleep and left. "Did you crawl out your window"? Nope, she had walked out the front door in the middle of the night. You know, I now understand why my mother insisted that there are some things your parents just don't need to know. I was completely happy in my oblivion. Now instead I have visions of her walking down the main road in the middle of the night, being abducted or hurt or run over...
What is it about children and their ability to not see how good they have it and to want to run away?