Microblog Monday: Imaginary Friends

Ayden and Rylee have an imaginary friend named Papa. We have no idea who Papa is or where they came up with this, but he is a regular source of conversation around here. Ayden was the one that came up with his Papa first and Rylee just played along a bit, but it didn't take long before she conjured up her own Papa. 

This kind of freaked us out in the beginning, because we couldn't figure out who they were talking about, and Ayden was SO convincing of this being a real person. There is nobody in their life that they call "Papa," other than these imaginary people. Their cousins do have a grandpa that they call Papa, but that isn't who Ayden and Rylee are talking about. Although this was disturbing at first, now we just roll with it. They talk about their Papas several times a day, so we don't really have much choice but to go along with it! lol

Here are some of the things they say:

• When watching a show on Netflix, "my Papa gave this movie to me."
• "My Papa lives on that street over there."
• "My Papa lives in a brown house."
• "I'm going to my Papa's house tomorrow."
• "My Papa read that book to me before."
• "I'm going to see my Papa tomorrow."
• "My Papa likes this soup, too."
• "My Papa says _________."
• "My Papa's going to buy me ___________."
• "My Papa likes to play this game with me."

It's "my Papa" this, and "my Papa" that all day long. They have conversations with each other about their Papa's. Rylee will say something like, "my Papa has a blue car," and Ayden will respond with something along the lines of, "MY Papa has a red car."

There are times that Tony and I get a little jealous (not really, but maybe a little?) of their Papas. I mean, they are pretty much the coolest people on the planet that can do no wrong, and pretty much fulfill all of Ayden and Rylee's wildest dreams.

As weird as this all is, I can remember having an imaginary friend when I was a kid. I remember this friend going out to restaurants with us, and needing to make sure there was a chair for this friend as well. I don't remember how my "friend" came about or when he/she disappeared, but I do remember having one.

Have you ever had an imaginary friend? How about your kids?

If you'd like to learn more about what #MicroblogMondays, click here to visit Stirrup Queens and read her inaugural post which introduced the idea.