Both my boys have imaginary friends and by strange coincidence both are named Gopher. You might think this would be liable to confuse the household populace. But, mercifully, all similarities between the two end with their appellation.
Corin's Gopher made his first appearance one sunny day when Corin informed us his friend lived under the lilac in the yard. Tim and I thought Gopher might be a short-lived member of our family, but he's proved to have unexpected longevity. He's been with us three years and in that time has been a generally genial, interesting member of the household. He keeps to himself mostly, residing under the lilac in the warm months and in the crawlspace through cooler ones. As we all can't be perfect, I must mention this Gopher's two regrettable habits. First, like a sneak, he sometimes turns the radio on in the middle of the night (especially if they boys have been pushing its buttons and have inadvertently set the alarm). This habit does however confirm his existence in the minds of several family members. His second regrettable habit must be called "encouragement." When Corin is upset with one or another of us, Gopher often whispers inaudible unmentionables in his ear. These Corin affirms with statements such as: "You're right, Gopher. What mom said
is totally stupid."
Photograph by Gopher
Seth's Gopher joined us sometime in the past year, but what he's lacked in longevity he's made up in activity. As I mentioned in the last post, he is a handy hockey goalie. And as the weather is warming, we find he's equally skilled at soccer. He's industrious as well. I'm informed he has a job fixing cars with the grease monkeys at the end of the block. This Gopher is always up for trying new things: college last week, preschool this one. His age is variable - sometimes he is thirty-six and sometimes four, but just this Thursday I had it on good authority that he is exactly seven and seven quarters. Given the plasticity of his habits, he's a bit hard to pin down, but this serves his intrigue. Seth's Gopher has several sisters (I'm told one is trying to be my particular friend - an advance I'm staving off). As for bad habits, there is some discussion that a portion of the nighttime radio hi-jinks might be attributable to this Gopher. This is, however, a matter of great dispute.
Seth and Gopher Playing
So, friends, imaginary and otherwise, I hope you all are well. And I hope that you, too, have friends of variable age who reside under lilacs when the weather is amenable. They make life endlessly interesting. And, when it comes down to it, who doesn't need a friend to whisper in your ear or always be ready to take a turn in goal?
