"July 2, 2006

When I was a little girl, I used to think that the further I put my face down in the water in the bathtub, I would dive into another world where everyone would be mermaids.  And as I transcend from the bathtub into the other world, I would also morph into the other world, I would also morph into a beautiful mermaid.  I am surprised I didn't somehow drown myself, from the times I tried, desperately yearning to create a magical bathtub.  I would always pretend anyway.  I used to be very good at pretending.  I was never bored.  I wish I could remember all the names of my imaginary friends.  And all the games I would play with Leo [my teddy bear].  So many games I used to make up, and tell my friends.  Erin ---- and I used to play the Ireland game, because we both thought we were Irish.  So in grade five I made up a story of two Irish people trying to make enough money so they could go to New York.  We would speak in (terrible) Irish accents and play it all day in my backyard.  Then there was the ice game with Andrea -----.  The best, and one of my favourite memories of my childhood is leprechauns, with -----.  Hours and hours we would spend in my backyard, using my old tree house as a base, pretending to be leprechauns.  We even wrote a little book with all the secrets and codes written down, and we buried it somewhere.  Now my way of pretending is to run as fast as I can away from my problems and real life.  I am really good at avoiding reality until the very last second.  That's what I'm good at: pretending."