Yeah, so, the Spawn and Homer really love each other. They like to be around each other all the time, see?
Homer is very sweet. He loves kids, and he thinks Calvin is the cat’s meow. Calvin really wants to play with Homer. The problem is, lately, The Boy can’t be trusted. He doesn’t really know how to be gentle while petting Homer. He grabs and pulls and pinches. He really doesn’t know his own strength. It’s kinda like living with Lenny from “Of Mice and Men,” and I definitely wouldn’t let Calvin tend to the rabbits.
A few weeks ago, The Boy thought he is giving Homer some nice petting, when really he was grabbing his fur and pulling. Homer immediately yelped and rolled on his back, being all submissive. However, when Calvin didn’t let go, Homer started growling and barking, and then he started struggling and showed his teeth and snapped at him. He didn’t bite Calvin, but Homer did scare him and made him cry. It was really sad, like watching two good friends get into an argument at a party.
Even though it wasn’t his fault, Homer was so ashamed about what happened. He stayed away from us for a while, hiding behind the curtains. Eventually, I had to go get Homer and let him and Calvin make up.
Homer is 11 years old. He’s breakable. We are constantly trying to teach Calvin how to be gentle with Homer, and sometimes he is. We all play together on the playmat, and Calvin likes to throw Homer’s goose for him.
Homer sits under The Boy’s highchair for scraps. He hangs out in the bathroom when we give Calvin a bath. He sits in The Boy’s room while we read him bedtime stories. But sometimes Calvin gets this look in his eye — a determined, but playful “I’m going to get you, Homer” look — and he rushes at Homer. We have to stop whatever we are doing and run over to them to break it up before someone gets hurt.
It’s a bummer, because they are buddies. They want to play together, but they don’t know how to play together safely right now. I’m sure this stage will pass. In the meantime, we will continue to play referee between our two boys.
February 2, 2013 at 2:42 pm
Yes it is very hard to watch the two of them sometimes cuz I can’t explain to Calvin that he needs to be gentle with Homer, Homer does LOVE him but Calvin can get ruff, so i play supervisor also. Hopefully this will pass soon….