Imaginary Friends

One of the best things about having multiple children is knowing about the different stages. The best thing about knowing about stages, is knowing that they are JUST stages and they won't (most likely) last long. And while there is great joy in that knowledge, there is also a bit of excitement when you get to experience one of the good stages again. We've recently hit the "imaginary friend" stage with The Toddler. And boy howdy, I had forgotten just how fun this stage can be. I seriously can hardly wipe the smile off my face. We've had such a variety of imaginary friends in our lives and home... it's hard to keep track of them. Some favourites have been "baby girl" who was constantly stuck up in a tree which would need to be climbed so she could be rescued, there was "Peter Pan" who always needed to sit in the seat I would rather sit on, and there was "my friend" who would tell a certain somebody to say bad words or do mean things (on second thought, that one is not a favourite, but definitely memorable).

The Toddler, who is probably the biggest liar in the house, has been talking about his "teacher" for months now. For a while I thought he was talking about his Sunday nursery teacher at church. Then I realized he was just trying to compensate for all the stories his siblings had about their teachers. But now his "teacher" has taken up with some new friends and even more stories. "My teacher makes me popcorn and gives me fruit snacks." "My teacher tells me I can stay up late and not go to bed when Mommy says." "My teacher read me lots of stories. I can't read. But my teacher read to me all day long. Mommy only read me and then stops."

Teacher rocks.

But now there's "Grandma" and even "the girlfriend." I'm getting jealous.

"Grandma gave me that toy and say I don't have to share it." - Which actually sounds like it could be true, except that it's his brother's lego that he bought with his own money.

"Grandma tell me I can ride my bike in the street." "Grandma makes me popcorn and chocolate chips and I don't ever brush my teeth." - What's with all the popcorn?

The other day in the car the kids were divulging their recent crushes. I force them to - since I'm their mother and need to know what to tease them about. They are always fiercely aware of anybody who may be sitting around them, since that's how Mr. Man and I met, and exceptionally keen to anyone nudging or kicking. The Toddler was not going to be left out of the conversation:

"My girlfriend kick me in the stomach. And hurt me. On purpose."

We all played along and expressed our deepest sympathy while laughing behind covered mouths.

I love this stage.