Release the Toddler??

A month or so ago, a friend posted a link to a video by the band Release the Sunbird on facebook for a song called "Running Away from Me." Although we have spent very little face time together, she is one of my favorite people in part because her musical tastes are impeccable and I love that she continues to introduce me to excellent groups and songs such as this. Take the three minutes to watch this and you'll see why I love it so:

I let Harrison watch the video with me a couple times several weeks ago and he too adores it (yet another reason why I love my Little Man - his own impeccable taste in music!). If he hears me humming the tune, he'll point to the computer and tell me, "That's the song I want to hear!" and won't relent until we listen to it. Twice. His infatuation with the song has become terribly ironic, however, and if you watched the video and listened to the lyrics, you might know by now where I'm going with this. If I remember correctly, my video/music-sharing friend dedicated her post to another friend, who, I believe, was experiencing the same parenting problem that we are currently facing - a fearless and fleeing toddler.

For the last couple weeks we've been struggling when we are at the park or on walks in the neighborhood because HD keeps taking off at a relentless, nonstop pace. A few times he's gotten far enough out in front that I have to start jogging (yes, at nine months pregnant) to catch up to him and for the life of me, he will not listen when I tell him (yell at him) to stop and wait for me. In fact, when he takes off like this, he tends to look back over his shoulder, squeal in delight when he sees me following, and then runs even faster down the sidewalk. Thankfully he has stayed on the sidewalk or bike path during these incidents. But seriously. He almost gives me heart failure every time this happens, not to mention the frustration levels that shoot through the roof when he fails to listen or stop on his own.

So my love affair with Release the Sunbird is a conflicted one. I haven't even purchased the album - or song - on iTunes yet because, much as I love it, I feel like I have somehow given my son the message through the music that it is funny/OK that he's running away from me. Is that even possible? Why can't he hear the lyrics that really matter - the "wait, oh, wait for me"s? That is what I really wish he'd do!