And then there were seven...

 

We had some friends from the big smoke come to visit us today.  It was so good to catch up.  They brought me the most delightful bunch of roses.  Aren't they an incredible colour?  I can't tell you how much I love having cut flowers in the house!

On a completely different note… does anyone remember Barry?  Well recently he's been popping up around the place again.  And he has been joined by not one, but FIVE other imaginary friends.  This cast of characters have detailed back stories which Minty relishes in detailing.  First up is a boy named Jessica, who is four and half years old but is allowed to go to school anyway.  Minty explains, 'he's my friend but grown ups can't see him'.  Jessica likes to sing but is mostly tone deaf.  Jessica has a friend called Monks.  Monks is five and half and his nickname is Alison.  Monks and Jessica go to different schools but sometimes their mums let them swop.  Apparently they talk to Minty all day long, 'talk, talk, talk'.  Next up are two girls, Alice and Beauty.  They have mermaid hair and like to snuggle with Minty in the big bed at night.  Jessica and Monks prefer to sleep in Minty's little bed.  Last of all is Circus who apparently has an issue with snoring which can be rather annoying.  Circus sleeps on the floor.

Now that Minty is older she can articulate that these friends are imaginary.  I don't have to save them a seat at the table or serve them dinner (unlike when Barry first joined the family!).  I guess I'm trying to see them in a positive light.  Minty has a vast imagination and her fanciful friends help her to cope in all sorts of situations.  She told me when she feels like crying she 'just swallows them [her friends] up' and then she doesn't feel sad and can smile again.  (I'm assuming she means this figuratively since actually eating her imaginary friends would be a little creepy!)  And frankly I don't think it takes a psychologist to figure out that she's feeling a little anxious about whether she will be going to school next year!

I'm not sure that I ever wrote about it here, but when Minty first started kinder she developed another imaginary friend.  She used to come home from kinder and tell me she had played with a new girl (let's call her Sophie because I can't actually remember what her name was).  For weeks I thought 'Sophie' was real and was quite alarmed to discover her name wasn't on the class list.  I approached the kinder teacher and confirmed that 'Sophie' was indeed fictional.  I was shocked as she had been utterly convincing with all the detailed descriptions she had given me.  At the time it was rather creepy like something from a B grade horror movie, though in retrospect I assume it was just a coping mechanism since 'Sophie' eventually disappeared.

Has anyone else had any experience with imaginary visitors?