Attack

In a previous post, I wrote that we were not worried about Jonathan catching up with his brother.
He has and it's payback time.
In the old days, when Matthew was mobile and Jonathan refused to wander beyond a two-foot radius, Jonathan would watch with dread as Matthew crawled up to him, grabbed his shirt and started climbing. I knew the cry. I would look over and find Jonathan with his head crushed to his knees and his brother standing triumphantly over him.
A few days ago, I heard that familiar wail and ran over to pull them apart once again. I was surprised to find that Jonathan was not the crier. He was the victor and his brother had trained him well. He is persistant and stubborn.
And I get nothing done.
I can see it coming. Jonathan gets a gleeful look on his face and then he takes off. I separate them and he goes after Matthew again. I place them on opposite sides of the room and he's grabbing Matthew's shirt before I can climb over the gate to get back to the dishes I was washing. He has his eyes fixed on Matthew and he will not give up until he has succeeded.
At first, Matthew was so surprised by it all, he seemed unable to protect himself. Even that has changed. Yesterday, I found them wrestling. Each was trying to pull up on the other. They were grabbing heads and ears and shirts and noses. Then they both fell onto their backs and cried.
But while Matthew rubbed his eyes and comforted himself, Jonathan saw an opportunity.
He recovered instantly and was back on his hands and knees, heading for his brother with the grin in place once again. Yes, Matthew has trained him. Matthew has trained him well.