Looks Like Uniqua's Moving In

In case you aren't hip with the hottest issues in the Pre-School set, Uniqua is one of the characters on The Backyardigans which is one of Darling Daughter's favorite shows. Apparently, she's also my daughter's new imaginary best friend.

This morning as we were leaving the house, Darling yelled, "No Daddy! Wait for Uniqua!" and as I was closing my car door, "Wait for Uniqua, Mama! Hurry up, Uniqua but be careful, your shoe is untied."

Handsome and I both smiled at each other and have played along with the new member of the family. Darling's got a great imagination (Daddy's an actor, Mama creates junk mail) what can I say?

And really, she has great taste in imaginary friends. I found a description of Uniqua on the Nick Jr. website that describes her as:

Uniqua is her name and her species. She’s graceful, agile, and as light on her feet as a ballerina. But when it comes to playing, she’s more “adventure” than “ballet.” Unafraid and daring, Uniqua loves to run, climb, and ride her bike faster than anyone. She also loves to tell silly jokes, make silly noises, and tickle her friends. Yes, Uniqua is mischievous, but she’s also sweet – she knows whether her friends are happy or sad, and she’ll always say something to show that she cares.

Certainly sounds like a pretty cool best friend if you ask me. She sounds a lot like Darling, to tell you the truth.

While this is a cute turn of events, I'm worried there isn't something deeper to it. As a parent you worry about every single thing and I'm hoping it's not that she is lonely and wants a sibling. Isn't 3 and half kind of young for imaginary friends? I don't know...

Handsome and I are in the early discussions of the next kid and both of us are hesitant. Kids are expensive and after a very upsetting year when Darling was 2 and I tried for almost a year to get pregnant and couldn't, we decided it was better for my mental health to just put it off for awhile. It was stressing me out too much.

Maybe it's time to start thinking about it again a little more actively. I just don't know yet.