Who? Hoopie!

Hoopie was my best friend. Really, when I lived on the farm, she was my only friend. When I played with my china tea set, behind the propane stove that heated the house, she was there to drink tea with me and listen to my ceaseless chattering. When it was time to trudge upstairs for my afternoon nap, Hoopie walked right beside me. When I was supposed to be asleep, she knelt beside me as I gazed longingly out the bedroom window. While Mom hung the laundry out on the clothesline in the yard, Hoopie joined me as we darted in and out and around the clothes billowing gently in the breeze. And, when Mom insisted that I was big enough to use the outhouse without her help, Hoopie went with me, adding a little extra security, even though I always kept the door open just a crack to let the sunshine in.

Hoopie rode right next to me in the backseat of our blue Ford when we visited Grandma and Grandpa, or drove into town to go to church or buy some groceries, but she usually waited in the car when I got to go visiting, especially when I got to play with Aunt Marilyn and my cousins. Poor Hoopie always took second place whenever I had a chance to play with real people.

I loved my baby brother, but he wasn't a very
good playmate, at least not yet.
It seems like kids don't have imaginary friends anymore. In all my years of teaching, I don't remember more than one or two of my youngest students who admitted to having an imaginary friend. From the time they are just a few weeks old, kids in daycare are surrounded by children who become their instant friends. And, at home, children may spend their time watching so many TV programs and movies that those ready-made characters provide them with a sort of friendship. In addition, many children are provided with a surplus of toys and adult attention--so much so, that they simply don't have time or reason to use their imaginations.

So, imaginary friends seem to have gone by the wayside, replaced with electronic gadgets and playgroups and daycare friends.

By the time I was four, almost five, when it was time for the whole family to move to Norfolk, Hoopie stayed behind on the farm. By then, I had a little brother who was finally old enough to play with me, and Daisy, our new, black Cocker Spaniel puppy, to confide in, and lots of neighborhood playmates to keep me company. It wasn't long before I started Kindergarten, and found a whole new world of friends.

I can't tell you what Hoopie looked like. I don't know how she got her name. I don't remember ever hearing her voice, but I know she was an excellent listener and a good friend. Hoopie was irreplaceable--and unforgettable.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three Weddings and Too Many Funerals

Image
It's been fifteen years since my middle daughter, Meagan, married Andy. Fifteen years of living and working in and around Gering, and five, almost six, children later, everyone they know would say that they are happily married. Their wedding was big and formal, and held in our church, like many weddings were then, at least here in Gering, with a sit-down dinner and dance afterward at the Civic Center. They both grew up here, and were well-known in the community, so many local people attended their wedding. In addition, they each had large extended families who were willing to travel quite a distance to be present for their big day. It was a memorable day, for sure. Fifteen years ago, our family was quite small. They both settled in to teaching, living in an old house on Andy's family's farm before building a house at the same location about ten years ago. Now, Andy continues to teach at Gering High School, while Meagan has been focusing her teaching skills on her own childr
Read more

Introducing Anna

Image
Anna Elizabeth Tyler was born almost three weeks before her due date, at 10:53 a.m. on Monday, October 30th, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. She weighed 5.45 pounds, and was 17.25 inches long. Her entrance into this world was more dramatic than we had hoped, since she had to spend eleven days in the NICU to monitor her breathing. But, after the initial scare, she is nursing well and growing appropriately at home. Anna at just a few days old Anna is the only one of our eight grandchildren who has spent any time in NICU. At one month of age, she is still small, but she is finally outgrowing her preemie clothes and moving on to newborn sizes. It's hard to be more than 1200 miles away from family when they need help, but contemporary forms of communication make that much easier than it used to be. Nevertheless, Bill and I were glad to join our daughter, Erin, her husband, Reed, our grandson, Will, and baby Anna, for Thanksgiving. We got to see for ourselves how their whole family is thriving.
Read more

A Little Covid

Image
Like so many of you, I am tired of hearing about Covid-19. As I look back to 2020 and the intervening years since then, I can't help but think that our government, along with many others throughout the world, may have overreacted, insisting on too many, perhaps unnecessary, restrictions. However, the fact remains that I am currently quarantined at home because, for the first time, I officially have Covid. I would never have known I have Covid except that it morphed into a sinus infection. So, I dutifully made my way to Urgent Care because I knew I would need an antibiotic to get over it. And, of course, I had to have a test to rule out Covid and Influenza A. Except, even though my vaccinations are up-to-date, the test was positive for Covid. My Covid symptoms have been minimal, probably because I’ve been vaccinated: some fatigue, some sneezing, and a headache that won't quit. Initially, I passed off those symptoms as my normal allergy symptoms, aggravated by the windy condition
Read more