Running Away

The other day I was briefly visiting a neighbor who lives about 3 houses away.  Apparently while I was gone, Ryan and Emma had gotten into an argument, and Emma decided she could no longer live in the same house with Ryan.  She packed up her little suitcase with her most prized possessions and decided to run away.  I think in her mind, the idea of running away sounded exciting, but the reality of it seemed a bit scary, so by the time Emma got outside, she decided maybe it was a better idea to run away "to the backyard" instead.  What I think is so cute is how her 8 year-old brain decided what the necessities of life were:

One change of clothes- check.  Three journals and a pen- check.  Life Savings of $106- check. Handmade paper box holding "jewels"- check. Three geodes in a plastic bag- check. Puffy (Emma's all-time favorite stuffed animal)- check.  Not pictured are the three apples, two bananas, and washed strawberries (individually wrapped in paper towels) that I asked her to put back on the fruit platter.  How adorable is this?

I remember doing the exact same thing at about the same age.  I was really upset with my family for some reason; decided to load my white bike basket with snacks, allowance money, and a change of clothes; and then rode off with the intent of running away.  The problem was, after I had gone a few blocks, I started to get scared-  I had never been on my own that far away from my house!  After assessing my options, I decided to just circle around about a 5-block circumference over and over until I was sure my family was unable to find me, super sorry for their ill- behavior, and looking forward to my grand return.  (In my mind, I felt like I rode around for hours, but in reality, I think it was more like 20 minutes.)  I have to admit I was offended when I returned to our house and no one was frantically running around the yard calling for me.  I rode up the driveway and parked in the garage, just waiting for my mom to come out and scold me.  Nope.  Thinking I must be in really deep trouble, I timidly walked in the house and when I encountered my mom I lied that I had just been out riding my bike, to which she replied, "Oh- I didn't even notice  you were gone."  Humph.