Meet Michael

A few weeks ago Elijah started talking about a friend of his.

Michael is his name.

His name first came up one day in the car when we were driving home and Elijah randomly shared a fact about his friend Michael.

This is not terribly unusual for Elijah to share random information so I didn't think much of it.

Then Michael's name began coming up in conversation's at a rapidly increasing rate.

I would hear, "Mom, did you know that Michael likes cheese pizza too. His favorite color is even green!"

Michael also was the guilty party when I would hear words that shouldn't be coming out of little mouths from the other room.

Whenever I probed Elijah for more information about this Michael character I got the same answer each time. "He's just a friend mom."

I didn't think much of it until I was asking Elijah what Michael's full name was.

Me: Elijah, what is Michael's whole name?

Elijah: What do you mean?

Me: Your whole name is Elijah Richard Dafoe. What is Michael's whole name?

Elijah: Oh, well his name used to be Elijah but he thought that was boring so now his name is Michael.

Me: (Hmmmm interesting don't you think) What is his last name Elijah?

E: Well his mom's last name is kickinthemouth, but his last name is Angelo.

Me: So his name is Michael Angelo?

Elijah: Yep.

I tried to give Elijah the benefit of the doubt, but I am pretty sure the only Michaelangelo I know of is a green turtle with a bandanna over his eyes and plastic swords in his hands.

Thus began the story of Michael.

Jonah has struggled with Elijah's friend named Michael.

Jonah likes things black and white, he colors grass green, and is practical with his imaginative play. He may be a pirate, but he lives on a ship and searches for treasure.

Elijah, on the other hand, keeps life interesting. He doesn't care for rules and certainly doesn't want to follow them. Grass can be purple when you are coloring and pirates don't always live on ships. They sometimes are actually detectives hiding from bad guys and like to eat chocolate chip cookies at their grandma's house.

I have explained to Jonah on multiple occasions that Michael is pretend, but it is okay.

Elijah loves telling you about his friend Michael.

I am a firm believer in imaginative play and imaginary friends.

(I had two of them myself, but we'll save that for another day).

I have been using my detective work to learn more about this boy. I am sure I will discover much more about Michael in the future, but here are some of the cold, hard, facts I have learned so far about Elijah's beloved friend:

• His name is Michael Angelo.

• His age varies depending on the day, but I gather he is a little older than Elijah.

• He has blue hair and orange eyes.

• He has a younger brother named, and a little sister named Emily.

• His mom is also having a baby, or I mean a babe, as Elijah refers to him. It's a boy and his name is Hiccup.

• He can't ever come over for dinner or for a visit because he is at the bank. (He doesn't work there he just is always visiting). Elijah says it's because of the free cookies.

• He likes cheese pizza, chicken nuggets, and french fries (Elijah's favorite foods too)

• His dad is dead, but it's okay because he is with Jesus so Michael isn't sad.

• Michael likes to make BIG messes with the toys in the basement and has a hard time not saying things he isn't supposed to!

I am not sure how long this friendship with Michael will last.

I am hoping it will be for awhile as I might be enjoying it more than Elijah.

Whether Michael moves away tomorrow or ends up becoming a part of our family, I will continue smiling and being entertained by a 3 1/2 year old and his imagination.

Like a small child believing that one man really can bring presents to all good children in one snowy night, a part of me wishes this blue haired, orange eyed, pizza loving friend would come over for dinner one night so we could really meet Michael.