Debra Lally

So while I contemplated if imaginary friends are signs of irreversible damage, knowing that my kid created an imaginary friend also somehow soothed me.

As a military brat, she was already pretty resilient, and the things they came up with were pretty cute.

This was the little push I needed to rejoin the world.

I also realized Mimi was a good friend.

She never got into mischief, was never really blamed for anything broken or missing, and always came up with fun things to create or do.

I would enjoy songs or games that I overheard while I cleaned or cooked dinner.

Mimi was everywhere, involved in everything.

Sometimes I even stooped to using Mimi's approval or suggestions to get things mini-struggles like tying shoes or brushing teeth over with.

Again, this is a Gemini we're talking about.

She could talk her way out of anything, and I needed all the help I could get some days.

Geminis really do be like that.

It's true.

When my husband returned from a deployment, having another adult in the house helped orient my grief back to normal, or as close as you can get after loss in a series of life-changing events.

one ritual i managed to keep was that every night we read three books and sang three songs one evening my husband volunteered to start reading but our daughter said she was too busy for a book telling him she wanted to play and needed he needed to leave she said get out right now

He tried to read a few times, only to be repeatedly dismissed as he was interrupting her playing.

My husband talked to our kiddo for a few more minutes, tucked her in, and then returned to our living room, seemingly amused, but off.

I was surprised he was back so soon, so I asked why.

Because I met Mimi, he joked.

Huh?

I was surprised.