Imaginary friends are here!
Oh, it’s arrived: that rich childhood imagination full of stuffed animals coming to life and trucks and trains capable of talking. This isn’t the stuff on TV; it’s the conversations in the backseat of the car or the corner of the living room as I talk on the phone. Here’s what I love the most: summaries of the exchanges. I’m told one day that my 3-year-old’s stuffed elephant saw a red helicopter as we drove near Orlando. "Juliana the giraffe" is still asleep, he tells me another day, because nobody woke her up. “Lamby the lamb" likes her new toy train, he reports.
These are not, strictly speaking, imaginary friends, but I sense we are not far from there. And, really, I can’t wait. Adults worry about the world we know. Kids dream up the world they want. That’s a beautiful thing. In honor of passage into this phase, I’m going to reread Adam Gopnik’s New Yorker essay, “Bumping Into Mr. Ravioli.” It’s about his daughter’s imaginary friend, Charlie Ravioli. Gopnik evokes the magic of his daughter’s conversations with Charlie, and what they say about her world. Enjoy Gopnik’s piece, and share your story about imaginary friends.
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