Runaway

In the words of his teacher Mitch, Grafton has been starting to "test his limits".  To our chagrin, we've also been witness to this behavioral shift.  Honestly, it's not been all that bad, as he only acts up on days when he has a sleep deficit.  But today was one such day.  On this day, Grafton spent considerable time refining his techniques for ignoring parental questions and requests.  He worked on how to feign interest in any nearby inanimate object when something is asked of him, appearing completely entranced by the object while he studies its finest details.  Grafton also practiced his "I was heading somewhere important before you started talking to me" technique, in which he slyly meanders away towards a distant destination that clearly is more important and more interesting than any trifling talk that might be emanating from his parents lips.  All of this we can take in stride, and sometimes we even get a little, hidden chuckle out of watching his antics be put to use.

But then he went too far.  It was about 6pm in the evening, and Dad was gathering together all the trash for the next day's curbside pickup.  Mom was outside with Grafton, and he was enjoying himself while pushing around an empty cooler-on-wheels at the top of the driveway.  When Dad came outside with the recycling, he saw that Grafton was starting to head down the driveway and asked him to turn around.  In an instant, Grafton dropped the cooler to the ground, and started running full-stride, downhill toward the street.  Busy with the trash, Dad called out to Mom, "you'd better go get him!"  She started down after him.  Usually Grafton will run a short distance and then stop, just to see if he's caught anyone's attention.  But not this time.  He started running faster as he heard Mom's sandals flip-flopping behind him!  Mom was slowly closing the gap between her and Grafton--but not quickly enough!  Realizing he might actually reach the street before catching him, she starts to yell wildly at him to stop, but I think this only spurred on his escape.  Dad, who was originally convinced that Mom was going make the catch halfway down the 150' driveway, stood helpless as he watched the pursuit unfold in slow motion.  Feet before the driveway ended, Mom was able to snag the little sprinter, who was given a proper scolding, and then brought inside for a lengthy timeout.  We were both in a little shock at how quickly this dangerous situation unfolded, and then how fortunate we all were that it ended without incident.  Perhaps we'll start our search again for a new home, preferably one located at the end of a cul-de-sac.