'Mommy! Mommy, come quick!'� Michael bellows as he knells underneath the large apple tree. 'What is the matter?'� I shout while trying to catch my breath from the sprint across the yard I just did. 'Look what I found. Isn't it amazing?'� he asks wide eyed as he stares down towards the ground. 'Such a silly little boy'� I thought as I knelt down beside him.
Michael was a strange four yr old. Unlike all the other little children his age, he was fascinated by the weirdest things. Especially bugs. They were his 'Best friends'� he called them. And if anything happened to them at all once he found and named them, it was like the end of the world for him. Curious as to see what he found this time, I peeked closer at his two little cuffed hands. 'What is it sweetie?'� I ask. Michael proudly stood up and giggled. 'It's an ANT!'� he cheerfully cried. Michael opened his right hand and watched as a tiny black ant about the size of a speck of dirt climbed out. We watched as the little ant slowly moved its head from side to side, glimpsing around. 'I named him ant.'� Michael told me. Such a simple name I thought, but he was so proud of himself. You would have thought he had just discovered the cure for cancer. I looked at him as a huge smile stretched across his face. 'He's my Best friend.'� He tells me. I looked back at the ant and watched as it climbed up his palm onto his wrist and began traveling up his arm. 'Oh no, another heart brake for my little man,'� I thought as I realized this would not end well. It never did. He always found his 'friends'� and tried to care for them. He tried to keep them forever. He had the best intentions but it never worked out. Sure, sometimes he was able to keep them for a few days but never any longer. He would feed them. Give them water, and even play with them. But things happen. They would die or escape from the small, homemade containers made from milk jugs and coffee tins. Most of the time, they never made it into a container. Within minutes he always lost them. And as I watched him with his new 'best friend'�, that's exactly what happened. A strong gust of wind came by and the tiny ant was blown away. I watched as he stood there. It took only a moment for him to notice it was gone. Then I watched as the sad expression crept over his angelic face. Tears filled his eyes and began running down the sides of his cheeks. Sometimes I would think about whom this was the hardest for; him, realizing he just lost another friend or me, seeing how much he hurt and me not being able to do anything about it. 'WHHHAAAAA'�, he cried and ran into my arms. 'MMyyyy best friend is gone'�, he tells me as he sniffles in my ear. I comfort him the best I can. 'I know sweetie, it's alright.'� I listen for a few moments as he constantly repeats his words to me. Gently I pull him away and make eye contact. His big, brown eyes are all red from crying and he looks so fragile to me. 'I know what we can do'�, I say. Curiously, he stares at me and in a low voice he asks, 'What?'� 'Let's go up to the house and I'll make us each an ice cream cone. And after supper, we can go outside and catch some lightning flies when it's dark. He smiles once again at me. 'Alright,'� he says. He reaches down and grabs my hand with his. 'Let's go, mommy!'� he shouts as he tries to pull me towards the house. I can't help but chuckle to myself and wonder, 'Did I put my mother through this, too?'�

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