Acting Like a Guy

Today marked the end of Megan's second week with Project Bow. All in all, things have been going very well. Megan has enticed Bow to ask for "Magic Crayons", and while he has been reluctant to speak with her unless he had a very good reason to do so, Megan has been good at providing those reasons. For instance, it was clear all along that Bow likes to go outside, but he was refraining from asking to go. Many days passed when Megan and Bow both stayed in, just because Bow was too proud or stubborn to say what he wanted. But today Megan told Bow: "I really want to go outside. It's such a beautiful day! Bow, why don't you ask me to go out so that I can go outside, too. I really want to!" When she put it that way, Bow couldn't resist. He asked to go outside.

They had a nice time outside together, but after they came back in, and this was toward the end of the day, Bow began jumping uncontrollably at Megan and displaying at her. He didn't do anything dangerous or that would hurt her, but he was definitely not behaving well. Megan told him"No", and when he would not stop, she left him alone in the pen, and went and sat on the other side of the glass. She explained to him that he would have to behave properly, or she would not come back in. He eventually used the potty, and she came in to tend to that, and afterwards he behaved better. But when I came to relieve Megan at 5:00, he started jumping again, and she told me about what had happened.

After she left, I asked Bow why he behaved that way. At first he spelled: "Mommy is happy without Bow." I asked: "You mean, you missed me?"  He spelled: "Bow is happy without Mommy." Okay.

But after dinner, when his belly was full, he asked: "When will Megan let me act like a guy?"

Sword said: "Bow, you're not a guy. You're little."

And  I told Bow that he needed to show Megan respect. But I don't think any of our answers were all that satisfying. It'll be another two days till Bow sees Megan again. Hopefully, in that time, he will decide that he wants to spend time with her and that he is ready to behave.