You can't just walk out the door when you run away from our house. There are several very carefully orchestrated steps you must go through before it can officially be called Running Away.
Step 1. Violate a family rule. When you get busted, there are a few different approaches you can take that will lead to running away: you can pretend this is the first time in your life you have heard the rule, therefore it should not apply to you in this instance; or you can deny that you broke the rule, setting things up for a heated discussion before the running away takes place; or you can protest that the rule is blatantly unfair, or that there are extenuating circumstances which should negate the rule in this particular case. It doesn't really matter which approach you take, the important thing is to give off a very strong vibe that you have been wronged in a most heinous fashion.
Step 2. After you have tried and failed to argue your way out of your disobedience, make a very noisy departure from the room. Stomp your feet, roll your eyes, yell a lot, and cry if you can. The point here is to make it loud.
Step 3. Head straight for your room, slam the door, bang on the walls, and open and close your dresser drawers a few times. Again, the noise is really what you are going for. This step should take at least 5 minutes, preferably longer.
Step 4. Get a bag. It is most effective if you can get the bag from a central location, so that as many family members as possible can see that you are getting the bag. This will be the first real clue they have that you are running away. Don't forget to stomp as much as possible at this point as well. Gather whatever possessions you feel are vital to your existence, and that make it look like you really mean it this time. Think practical: kitchen utensils, clean underwear, and your DS are all good choices.
Step 5. Announce your intentions. There are several good tactics here. You can simply announce it as you take your bag and head for the door, but make sure someone hears you. Do not hesitate to involve siblings in this step. The amount of drama siblings can generate cannot be underestimated. Brothers and sisters can ask repeatedly where you are going and you can stoically refuse to answer. They can beg Mom to not let you go. They can line up on the couch and watch out the front window as you depart from the yard. Oh yes, the true value of brothers and sisters can perhaps only be measured at times like these. Another, more controversial tactic is to just leave, without saying a word, and making sure to slam the door behind you. In certain circumstances, this can be very effective, but it also runs a high risk of being a colossal failure if nobody knows what you are up to.
Step 6. Be gone. This is the hardest part of all-knowing exactly how long to be gone and how far to go. You can't be gone so long that your parents actually start to worry. That would tick them off even more than they are to begin with. And yet, you have to be gone long enough that it MIGHT appear that at some point you were serious. That whatever set off this chain of events was terrible enough that you were willing to actually consider leaving. Because even though parents will go to extreme measures to make you think they don't care/don't believe that you are leaving, every kid knows that deep down inside every parent is a crazy fear that their kid actually will disappear one day. But negotiating this balancing act can be very tricky, and will vary greatly from family to family. This step cannot be scripted- follow your instincts.
Step 7. Know when to fold. At any point in this process, if your mother threatens to ground you for running away, abort the operation immediately! You WILL lose, and this is not the time to test a parent's will. The benefits of running away must continually be weighed against the risks, and when they pull the grounding card, there just isn't anything to be gained. A few moments of satisfaction are not worth a weekend cut off from the world.
*warning: this guide is only intended in cases of mild, acute running away. Consult your physician for cases of more serious, chronic running away.
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