The Truth About Michael

Tears fill my eyes as I write these words.

(Hard to believe that my hormonal, sleep deprived self could cry so easily)

Michael is a fake!

If you don't know who Michael is, he was first introduced on my blog here almost a year ago.

He is was Elijah's imaginary friend. 

Not the imaginary friend that is invisible and stands next to a kid with whom they carry on conversations, but the friend who lives out every dream a 4 year old could possibly have. 

Michael has never been present, at least that I am aware of, but I could write a book about the adventures that Elijah and Michael have been on. 

You can do pretty much whatever you want at Michael's house and Michael has done some pretty amazing things!  He has been on some incredible journeys, seen things no one else has seen, and Elijah will tell you all about it. 

For example, as I gently remind Elijah that he can't scale the couches in the living room he would quickly respond with: "Michael's mom lets us do that at his house."

Or when he is in tears because I have just explained why Oreo cookies aren't the healthiest choice for a mid morning snack I am also reminded that you can eat Oreo's whenever you want at Michael's house!

Michael came to be shortly after Isaac was born. 

I think Michael mostly helped Elijah transition into the role of a Big brother and out of the role as the baby of the family. 

Michael has been the best imaginary friend a guy could ever have!

I have been nostalgic as I have watched Elijah mature over the past few months. 

It has been encouraging, of course to see your child grow up, but also a little hard. 

 I wondered if this maturation would been the death of his friend. 

I worked all last weekend and sometime during my hours of working and sleeping Elijah confessed to Jonah that Michael wasn't real.

He was just "joking" about him and pretending. 

Richard told me this and my heart broke a little. 

I asked Elijah about it and he did in fact confirm that Michael isn't real. 

He was quite serious when he told me this.

I said it was ok if he wanted to keep pretending. 

(I don't think I am ready for Michael to be gone from our lives)

He didn't say anything, but just sadly looked at the floor.

Elijah and I have had many fabulous conversations about life thanks to Michael. 

My Dad took the boys to the circus last weekend and the highlight of the circus for Elijah was when a lady was shot out of a cannon 120 feet!

Since I am not in a place to accept the end of Michael as reality, I asked Elijah if Michael saw the circus. 

Then I held my breath.

Elijah quietly answered no.

(More heart breaking)

Then he smiled at me and said he didn't go to the circus, but he was in one once!

I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing this wasn't the end of Michael.

Elijah's face instantly lit up and he quickly became his animated self jumping around the kitchen and demonstrating how Michael was also shot out of a cannon, but it wasn't the same boring old cannon the lady at the circus was in, it was a pirate cannon!

He was really a pirate on a ship and there were bad pirates coming to get him and his crew, so Michael volunteered to be shot out of the cannon across hundreds of miles to the bad guy pirate ship so he could kill them all with his sword. 

Then I smiled and bent down to his level and hugged Elijah. 

I told him I would really miss Michael. 

He put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes and told me it would be okay. 

So, there it is.

The truth about Michael.  

I probably won't believe it for awhile. 

I will probably get out the video camera and capture a few more of 

Michael's adventures before they are forgotten.  

Then I will start praying for Isaac to have an imaginary friend.