(this post was origially published on my temporary blog at blogspot on monday, 30 march 2009. i'm migrating those posts to this blog for those who might have missed them.)
around age four, ella informed us she had five "siblings". all of them are very distinct and each serve a particular function in her life.
grophie is about ella's age but he is very small. he is the one most likely to cause an argument with ella, usually by doing something he knows is against the rules such as running off at the library and thus forcing her to make him behave. his girlfriend's name is milkie.
boobah is various ages but usually younger than ella. she is easy to get along with, generally happy, and likes to play whatever the others are playing.
tootie is various ages, she patiently lets ella remind her not to do things like play in the street. her boyfriend's name is gorg. tootie and gorg are both 15, i know this because ella threw them a quinceaños party. tootie is adopted from china and ella frequently goes back there to visit tootie's uncle.
moodle is a newborn, in fact he gets born about once a week. he is a very happy baby. his first word is always "ella".
glass is older than ella, he's the teacher, he tells all the others what they need to know to be safe or to get along with others.
teachers at ella's preschool have asked about her siblings--she describes them in such detail and displays such obvious affection for them that anybody would certainly want to meet them.
the interesting thing is that ella seems to need her siblings--with them she works out many problems in her life, such as how to negotiate the rules of play, or the most effective ways to sooth a hurting child. she interacts with them much the way i'd expect her to interact with "real" siblings--they argue, they hurt each other's feelings, they play tricks on each other, but they also make each other laugh, give each other lots of encouragement and support, and generally treat each other with great respect and affection. they have become, in fact, real siblings--quotation marks are no longer appropriate--and i love all of them.
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