Imaginary Friend

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned Jocelyn’s imaginary friend “botty”, (with the T’s pronounced strongly). It’s been a very steady friend for almost 8 months now I believe. I say “it” because she’ll say “he needs to come with us to the church” or “he really loves mashed potatoes” or “he really likes to have parties” (I think we threw 3 different birthday parties for him this week which involved getting a lot of food out of the pantry and blowing up a balloon. He usually turns “3” just like Jocelyn but one time he turned 5 apparently). However, when I ask her “so Botty is a boy?” she tells me “oh no, a girl”. She doesn’t seem to have pronoun gender confusion in any other situations except this one. One time we apparently even forgot him at church, but luckily Jared was still there locking up and finishing a meeting so I called and told him to bring Botty home. He comes to the park with us, likes certain foods, you name it! I’m fine with it, as it shows she has an imagination, but it is bringing to my attention that we don’t have a lot of friends her age here. I’m so glad she and Lillian have each other as they play together really well now, but I wish I could offer that to her more! Luckily some people moved into town recently with kids near her age at church, so hopefully the little playgroup I organized with some other moms starting next week will help fill any social needs. In the mean time, she has a good friend that can come to her aid whenever she wants. Some days I never hear mention of Botty, and others he is consistently with us all day long. I don’t remember having an imaginary friend, but I know my brother Nate had “jimmy” his friend so it’s an interesting and new concept for me.