This is in response to This Week’s Writer’s Workshop Prompts – August 27, 2026, hosted by John Holton.
I chose option #3: Talk about something you used to do “the hard way,” and tell us how you do it now.
I spent most of my childhood learning things the hard way, and one of my earliest attempts came when I was five and announced I was running away. I thought my mom would panic, but she didn’t; she packed my little suitcase, walked me to the porch, and locked the door as if this were a perfectly reasonable plan. For a moment I stood there, proud of myself, until I realized I had no idea what a runaway was supposed to do once the door closed. The quiet wasn’t dramatic or scary. It was just me, a suitcase, and nothing to run to. Eventually I started pounding on the door, yelling for her to let me back inside. She opened it just enough to look at me and asked why I wasn’t gone yet. I told her I changed my mind, and she let me in without a single lecture. I never tried running away again, though I kept finding new ways to learn the hard way.
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3 comments
Wow that is a great story. It reminds me of when I was out walking our Leonberger Bronco and his leash came off. He ran off and I was chasing him but I did not catch him. He was faster than me. So I just walked off, towards home. He was staring at me as I did that. Then after a while I heard steps from paws and he appeared next to me and I put on the leash. He did not really want to run away. Sorry for comparing kids to dogs but I think it might be universal. We don’t really want to run away.
A terrific story, Kymber. Your Mom is a genius.
Nice story Kymber. My brother said he was going to live with my grandad and when Mum asked him how he intended to get there, he said he’d follow the bus (it was about 120 miles)