An unexpected addition-- a little guy by the name of Soren Lorensen -- has joined our family and been engaged in mischief with Toby ever since.
For many months when we confronted Toby about his poor choices, we heard this: "It wasn't me. The invisible man came in and did it while I sleeping." Then inexplicably, one day the invisible man became "Soren Lorensen".
It went something like this: "Toby, why did you carve a big hole in the wall above your bed during nap time?"
"I didn't do it. It was Soren Lorensen."
"Soren, who?"
"Soren Lorensen."
"What do you mean?"
"Well. . . " he explained. "Soren Lorensen wanted to talk to Joshua, so he tried to make a hole to Joshua's room. I told him to stop, but he didn't listen to me. I told him he would get a time out."
"Where is Soren Lorensen now?"
"He's hiding. But he's invisible. You can't see him."
From these early moments, Toby's Danish invisible friend became a favorite mealtime topic and something of a family mascot. Indeed, over time we've learned more about Soren. Last week we discovered that he's seven years old and has a little sister named Connie (also invisible). We also learned that he can "fly like a superhero," when necessary.
Soren is clearly Toby's alterego; sometimes he's the one making good choices, but more often he's the one knowingly making poor choices.
One morning I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to the sound of hardcover books being hurled, one after the other, against Toby's bedroom wall. I knocked lightly, then opened Toby's bedroom door. I noted the pile of books scattered across the room of his floor. Yawning, I asked, "What's going on, Toby?"
"Soren Lorensen wasn't tired anymore."
"Why is he tossing your books at the wall?"
" I don't know. He woke me up and I told him to stop."
"Please remind him that we take care of the books in our house."
"Okay."
Yesterday I took the boys downstairs to turn on Sesame Street for them at 7 a.m. and noticed the light was on in the kitchen. "Has someone been downstairs already?" I asked them.
"Nope."
"Are you both sure?"
"Weeell, I did see Soren Lorensen down here," offered Toby. "He was hungry and grabbed a banana."
"Really? What did he do with the banana?" I asked.
"He ate it."
"Oh. Where's the banana peel then?"
"Soren Lorensen hid it under my bed," stated Toby cheerfully.
"He did? Well, would you please go get it for me?"
"Sure."
As Toby scrambled up the stairs, Joshua turned to me purposefully. "You know it was really Toby, not Soren Lorensen, Mommy."
"How do you know?" I queried him.
"It just was."
Toby then reappeared with an empty banana peel and a new banana with the yellow peel still intact. Joshua tried a new tactic with him: "Toby, you know you're not going to get in trouble. Just tell Mom it was you and not Soren Lorensen."
"I can't."
"Just tell her, Toby."
"But it wasn't me, Josh. I didn't eat the banana. Soren Lorensen was hungry. Not me. I want to eat the other banana."
A bit more agitated now, Joshua replies, "No. There is no Soren Lorensen, Toby. It was you."
"There is a Soren Lorensen, Joshua," a now indignant Toby responds. "He's right here. You just can't see him!"
For his part, Toby firmly believes there is a Soren Lorensen and can't be convinced otherwise. Joshua is ever the skeptic and wants Toby to receive a fair punishment for Soren's misdeeds. Yet there's still a bit of doubt in his mind as to whether Soren Lorensen really exists. Sometimes he plays along and smiles knowingly at Jochen and I, but more often he presses us to admit that it's only Toby's imagination. I f'ind it all terribly amusing. I like to ask Toby innocent questions about Soren, then simply enjoy where it takes us.
Footnote: It came to our attention that Soren Lorenson is the name of Lola's invisible friend in a British book about siblings named Charlie & Lola. We're guessing Toby heard this story at preschool and borrowed the name.
