As Lion said, we had a busy Saturday. The dog went for a bath to alleviate some of Lion’s allergies. We went grocery shopping. Lion had a haircut. I got a tank of fuel for the truck because of all the running around. Something for everyone although it seems I got the short end of the stick there. And we went for pizza. All in all, a lot of trips here and there, and a tired Mrs. Lion from driving.
In the midst of going for pizza, Lion asked if we were going to play. I’d written in my post that we would and to that point we hadn’t. Well, sure, I could have squeezed it in between the time we got home from shopping and when we we needed to do some work on the trailer. I could have put him in the sling in the short time before we had to retrieve the retriever. I could have unlocked him in the fifteen minutes or so between getting the dog home and when we went out for pizza. There was plenty of time. And my having to drive all these places (sore subject at times) has no effect on me.
Despite all the errands and (I assume) a tired Lion, I unlocked him and we played. And this time it worked! He was hard in a short time and I edged him several times. A few times very, very close to the edge. And he was “happy”. And then he said he hoped we’d get to actually use the dungeon today. He just had to get that little jab in. There have been a lot of little jabs lately. I’ve been chalking them up to the itchiness, but at a certain point they start to go too far.
I’ve been wrong about this. I’ve been wrong about that. This is no good. That is no good. I think I’ve let him get a little too far out of control. Perhaps there’s been too much sparing the rod. It’s time to reel him in. (Get it? Rod and reel. Huh? Huh? Sorry.) I don’t think he’s been doing it on purpose. I think he’s been too uncomfortable and I’m right here so I’m an easy target. He’s lashing out in frustration. But that lashing out is frustrating for me too. And I have the power to bring it back under control.
So, Lion, I’ve got a list too. And I’m checking it twice. I already know who’s been naughty and nice. And I know who’s going to have red cheeks for Christmas.
