Friday the 13th seems like an appropriate time in October to begin talking about Halloween. The decorations have started going up. Pumpkins are popping up in windows. Shops have cleared their seasonal sections to fill them with costumes. This house on our way to creche was the first one to decorate. They have embraced the holiday fully, with the cobwebs and glittery spiders and a big skeleton by the front door. On our way back from creche earlier this week we stopped by to admire the decorations. Hawkeye was excited about “spiders” and “spidewubs”.
But he wasn’t excited about touching them. In fact, when a breeze stirred up the long strands of the puffy polyester and a tendril waved close to him, he stumbled sideways seeking refuge against me. He was afraid.
I spotted a small ball of the white fluff on the ground which must have come off from the gate and picked it up. No amount of encouragement would convince Hawkeye to touch either the fake cobwebs or the big glittery spiders. He was happy to observe, but not approach.
We moved on eventually. I kept the small ball of white fluff but he steadfastly refused to come anywhere near it. This morning we once again stopped at the gate. Hawkeye had been coming closer and closer and I finally convinced him to pet one of the glittery spiders. We first did it together and then he eventually tried it on his own.
I don’t know why I was so determined to get him to overcome his fear, other than the knowledge that he has always been fussy about texture, although he has long since stopped fretting over touching things like foam and having food on his hands. I was inordinately happy to see this progress today though.
Of course, we now have to stop and pet each spider on the gate.
The Feathered Rose 