Ode to Umit

The professor is back on the trolley. I hope he will update again with another educational post. You can imagine how Grace's vocabulary (for biological and anthropological terms) surprises her teachers. Of course, she always spices that up with a lengthy discussion of her imaginary best friend, Umit.

And it is Umit that I will be posting about today. This is actually a quite difficult task. How do I characterize Umit's multitudinous nature? I will give it my best:

Ode to Umit
He is ever-present and yet ever-changing.
He comes without asking and leaves without telling.
He can be cupped in your hand yet stand as tall as a mountain.
He is loyal, defending his mistress against all parental evils.
He is a baby, a toddler, a young child, and a teenager.
He has a car, and it breaks down regularly.
He has a mom and a dad whom bear striking resemblance to Grace's parents.
His health is metaphysically tied to his mistress's; when Grace gets ant bites, so does Umit; when Grace sees the doctor, so does Umit; and so on.
He can be set upon or slept upon without your knowledge.
He is both real and not real (as in "Dad, you know Umit's not real, don't you").

The list could be longer, but I'm sure you have gathered an understanding of our dear transitory friend. He has lived in (and around) our house for a year now. There is no telling how long he will remain.