J.P. and Luke

Little Jimmy is a lot like I was when I was his age. I had a crib full of stuffed animals and I named each and every one. They were all very special to me, and when I eventually graduated to a "big girl" bed my stuffed animals took over so much of my bed it was often hard to see where I was. 

Little Jimmy has an adorable elephant stuffed animal that is in his crib, along with a Mickey Mouse, a few blankets, and two stuffed dogs. One day, out of the blue, Jimmy started calling his elephant J.P. The dogs didn't receive names, but the elephant somehow passed the test of being worthy enough. As to where Jimmy got the name J.P., we are all still scratching our heads. 

And then a few weeks ago I pulled out the Rudolph my mom bought Jimmy from Build a Bear Workshop last year. When I re-introduced the toy to him, I pressed his ear and made his bright red nose glow. 

"Jimmy, this is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!" I told him with excitement. 

He grabbed the stuffed reindeer from my hands, hugged it around its neck, and said, "Luke!"

"No, no, his name is Rudolph," I told him. 

Jimmy wasn't convinced Rudolph was a suitable name for his new red nosed friend, so ever since he's been addressing him as Luke. I've tried, to no avail, to tell him his name was already pre-determined, but Jimmy seems to think Luke suits him much better. 

One day we were watching what our house calls Simba, better known as "The Lion King," when Jimmy began jumping up and down. 

"J.P.! J.P.! Luke! Luke!" he squealed. 

I looked over at the t.v. and saw the opening scene of the movie, where animals of all types come together to celebrate the birth of the future king, including elephants and antelope. Jimmy was mistaking the antelope for his beloved reindeer and recognized the humongous elephants as his own friend.

Jimmy continued to jump up and down yelling J.P. and Luke over and over. I caught myself as I started to correct him, when I asked myself what would be so wrong with him thinking his friends had small cameos in his favorite movie. It's something so innocent about him and the joy was so genuine that I couldn't bring myself to say anything. Instead, I waved to the t.v. and said, "Hello, J.P. and Luke!"

I hope the imagination my son has never fades.