Important Stuff

And now, because I have nothing but lengthy tomes in the works, I submit this list of things that are in one way or another significant in Michael’s world.

Things Michael Likes:

1. Sprinklers.
2. Fireworks.
3. Lunch.

He created this list yesterday on the way to Ms. K’s, as sort of a summary of his current state of being. We had been talking about fireworks, and how we were sad that the fireworks stands were all closing up because the 4th of July had passed. While he was mourning the passage of fireworks for the year, he saw some sprinklers running and had to interrupt his fireworks lamentation to ask me questions about the sprinklers, such as “how they’re sprinklers?” (which of course translates to “aren’t those sprinklers amazing?”).

On the heels of this came a sudden question about the contents of his lunchbox. “Do I gots peanut butter and jelly samwich?” “Yes, Michael. Just like you asked.” “Good. I love peanut butter for lunch. I love sprinklers and fireworks, too. So, I love sprinklers, fireworks and lunch.”

Got it.

Things That Upset Michael:

1. Spiders
2. Blood
3. Ice
4. Cheese

The spider part is easy to understand. I don’t like spiders. Neither does his mom. His oldest sister is ghoulish enough to be okay with them, and will catch the largest, hairiest spider you can imagine in a jar and show it to everyone.

Michael doesn’t like to see blood, or even consider the fact that it might ever leave his body. If he bumps his elbow or scrapes his toe, he will immediately demand a band-aid. 99% of the time the injury is bloodless, but that doesn’t matter. There is the possibility of blood, so let’s not take any chances. Of course this fear of blood brings with it a macabre fascination as well. He wants to know that he has blood in him, that his parents and siblings have blood in them, and what this blood does and why it’s red and how it stays in there and what happens if it all comes out.

I’m not sure how the ice thing started, but he hates it. More precisely, he hates knowing that ice melts. If it didn’t melt, he’d be okay with it. This one is relatively new, so I’m still not sure what to make of it. Last night at dinner he asked me several times whether his drink (in a special opaque cup with a straw – we were at a restaurant) had ice in it, because he doesn’t want ice. I’m sure he was cringing watching the rest of us drink our water, knowing that the ice in those glasses would eventually melt. Snow cones, otter pops, ice cream – anything that’s frozen and might melt will cause him much anxiety. Not too long ago, his mom tried to explain to him that when ice melts, it evaporates back into the air and turns back into water. He took her theory and ran with it: “And then it comes back into our freezer and makes more ice!” He was so pleased with himself for having figured that out all on his own. Now he knows that evaporated ice melt will find its way into our freezer somehow.

He still hates cheese. Particularly the smelly kinds like Parmesan, Asiago and Feta. We’ve been doing the Greek food thing lately, making Falafel with hummus, tzatziki and kalamata olives – and Feta cheese. Mmmmm! Michael can’t stand it. He can’t even be in the same room with the Feta, without holding his nose and waving his hand around in front of his face. I feel sorry for him, I really do. I hope his tastes change when he gets older. He’s missing out on an entire dimension of food enjoyment with his dislike of cheese.

Hopefully this weekend I’ll have something more meaningful to proffer.