At the breakfast table this morning, Lucas suddenly turned his head, looking nowhere in particular with his eyes, a happy, expectant look on his face. He called out, (rather loudly for my 7am ears) "Ella, is that you? Ella, where are you hiding?!" He laughed and then turned to look behind him to the orange tree outside our window. "There you are!" he yelled excitedly. "You're up in the orange tree! What are you doing up in that orange tree?"
Ella is either an imaginary friend or an actual spirit friend. I can't know for sure which it is, but she's been one of Lucas' favorite playmates for over a year. We just roll with it when he talks to her.
"What's Ella doing up in the orange tree?" I asked Lucas.
He looked toward the tree, waiting for an answer. "She's picking green oranges!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "Ella, you're picking green oranges! Why are you picking green oranges? That's funny, Ella!"
Ella has a very distinct kind of energy when she shows up. She's very silly, and likes to yell, laugh, dance and jump. I wonder if she's hard of hearing, because he always yells when she's around. Sometimes Lucas will actually "become" Ella and embody her personality. If I'm in the mood for it, it's really funny. If not, it's incredibly tiring. He's already a fireball of energy, and when "he's Ella," it's magnified.
"I'm Ella," he'll yell with a giggle, doing his special Ella dance down the hall, throwing himself up on his bed for a round of jumping, laughing, and yelling.
In addition to Ella, there are two other regular and invisible-to-us visitors named Kasidy and Carolyne. Together, he calls them "My Girls." As with Ella, sometimes he plays with them, and sometimes he becomes them.
Carolyne (rhymes with Clementine) is very sedate and sweet. She likes to read books and play with stuffed animals. When Lucas "is Carolyne" he speaks in a soft, high voice.
Kasidy is adventurous and pushes the limits of what Lucas can do, like flips on the bed. (Yipes!) She also likes to play guitar with Lucas, and apparently, she really rocks out.
Perhaps his girls are here to help him explore different parts of his personality. He's an only child, so maybe they're here to keep him company. Maybe they're just his imagination. Like I said, I don't really know. And I don't know why there aren't any boys in the mix. What I do know is that they bring him a lot of joy, and who am I to burst that bubble?
Lucas’ Girls
on
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
7 comments:
How fun! I have to admit, I have been somewhat disappointed that my own kids have never shown a proclivity for spirit/imaginary friends...I had several growing up and was kind of looking forward to it, strangely enough...of course, I had the twins when my eldest was 19 months, so all three of them have pretty much always had each other, and play together a lot, and that probably has influenced it...they do all three get very involved with stuffed animals at times, and right now my youngest girl is in a relationship with a stuffed bunny that almost seems like 'spirit-like'...I think spirits might sometimes come through stuffed animals, actually!
You are a wonderful Mama that you can accept that he has friends that you cannot see. My kids both have spirit mates, and they are with us frequently. One is our old dog, Caesar :).
Lisa ~ How long did you have your spirit friends as a child? I never had any, and always wished I had.
Heike~ Thanks for your kind words! How cool that Caesar is still playing with your kids! How old are your kids now? I'm really interested to learn how long kids are able to keep this awareness when they have parents who acknowledge it and respect it.
Alexis - I think to around 8 years old or so (which now that I think about it, corresponds to the Tibetan article I just posted, I hadn't thought about that!) Although I think it peaked around 4 and gradually tapered off...I don't know if I have ever mentioned this, but I was actually born a twin and she died at birth...my parents were very open about this and I always knew of it growing up, and I actually think my main spirit friend was her...
Lisa ~ See? You would have fit right in with those little Tibetan children! :)
It makes perfect sense that your twin was your primary spirit friend. How lovely for you! I wonder if your connection with her is why you've remained so connected with spirituality throughout your life. So interesting...
My older son Orlando had imaginary friends... Mousie and Hake. To me, his friends seemed to be ways of exploring his feelings or to explore certain situations. Mousie showed up when Orlando was close to three or so, and Hake showed up after Mica was born and Orlando became a big brother.
He hasn't talked about them for a long time (Orlando is six now).
Stacy~ Do you remember at what age Orlando stopped talking about them? Do you think it coincided with Mica becoming verbal? Interesting to ponder...
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