Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Jilly's House

My children have imaginary friends. When Sarah was small, she had a whole posse of imaginary friends. I'm sure they had individual characteristics, but she referred to them all as "the friends". I think Rachel and Abby did as well, but they weren't as into them as Sarah was. And now, the twins.

The twins' imaginary friends are Jilly & Josh. We hear an awful lot about Jilly. Much more than I care to know. Jilly is cool and she plays with the twins and likes them a lot. They pack bags and "go to Jilly's house". Jilly's mom is also cool and is good friends with Jilly. Sadly, Jilly's father died. I can't remember if he expired from disease or a car wreck, but he is out of the picture. Jilly, Josh, and their mother are soldiering through.

I'm glad that the twins have very active imaginations, but I'm a bit tired of hearing about Jilly. I'll have to get Keziah to say "Jilly" for an audio bite. It's very cute and endearing...the first few times. But when they talk about Jilly & Josh & Jilly's house and Jilly's mom all day, it gets a bit wearing. Perhaps I'm jealous that they seek outside stimulation. Probably it's because I'm comparing myself against the perfect Jilly's mom who is, I'm sure, blonde, lithe, cooks healthy gourmet meals every day and is on the boards of several community groups.

I think it's sad that I'm jealous of the imaginary mother of my children's imaginary friends.

We did turn the tables on her at the wedding rehearsal, though. She was reluctant (read: screaming and clutching at us, refusing to walk down the aisle) to do her flower girl gig. I finally looked at her and said, "Keziah, Jilly wants you to walk down the aisle and sprinkle flower petals." The look she gave me was priceless. It was sort of a mix of incredulity, hope, and a bit of "trapped". It was all I could do not to laugh outright. She said, "Mom, Jilly's not here," to which I replied, "I know, but she told me that you look beautiful and that she wants you to do the flowers tomorrow." She still didn't want to do the job but there was nothing she could say. Jilly wanted her to do it.

The day of the wedding, she was still a little unsure. (We had decided the night before that, if Keziah wouldn't do it, David could do it and she'd either not go at all or would take the rings down. Yes, we were desperate.) We oohed and ahhhed over her and told her she looked like a princess and that Jilly thought she looked beautiful. She, of course, insisted that Jilly couldn't see her but we told her that Jilly thought it just the same. She eventually walked down the aisle after her brother, being held firmly behind by Sister Abigail. Abigail placed her (there's no other word for it) at the front, where she was supposed to stand. After a couple of mad dives into the first pew where her sisters were sitting, she resigned herself to standing up front throughout the ceremony. And she did a great job going back down the aisle with Jeremiah, her friend and the nephew of the bride (her brother having been removed mid-ceremony for under-the-pew bell-ringing). She was very proud of herself, as were we.

I'm sure Jilly was too.



Abby walking Keziah down the center aisle.


Jeremiah and Keziah

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The news on the street is that Jilly's Dad left Jilly's Mom for another imaginary woman. Jilly's mother sits at home alone watching Lifetime and eating chips.

Miss K is absolutely beautiful! Did you get a picture of the twins together?