Someone should write an article about our wired family (wired in the sense of communication-ready rather than in the sense of easily-triggered, although, now that I think of it, that would apply too). Sam is already collecting Christmas Web sites which he visits daily. Allan and I e-mail each other from within the house because it’s the quickest way to get our messages through. I take some pride in having computerized our CD collection so that if you hear a song playing and wonder what it is, you can turn any TV in the house to channel 82 and see the album cover, title, and track playing. The fact that I’ve spent more time on this than any sane person would (thereby qualifying for both definitions of wired above) is beside the point. I have had he heady pleasure, experienced by few of the computer laity, of calling tech support and hearing the amazement in their voices: “You’re the end user?”
This year Allan formed a company which analyzes how people receive, process, and respond to medical information. He contacted three friends with different areas of interest from different parts of his past and brought them together into a partnership that is also, as one might expect, wired. In fact, Allan introduced all three and they began work on the project through e-mail. None of the others had met when they agreed to the partnership. There has since been perhaps a dozen phone calls and, a few months after work began, there was a single face-to-face meeting. Otherwise, ZZZZZ’s owners function entirely within a universe of e-mail addresses and encrypted files. Oh brave new world that has such people in it!
Only Max resists the computer revolution. He has, however, shown a recent interest in a shockwave bowling game on the internet. He will soon be one of us.
Are we happy we built our new house? Yes we are. As I write this, I look out my office window and see two boys exploring the woods. We’re all happier here. Unfortunately we have discovered that moving sixty miles north and west has not freed us from Illinois winters.
Does the house work for our family in the way we had hoped? Well, yes. Sort of. During the design process, we thought in terms of zones. What’s evolved would more accurately be described as territories.
Zoe, our 6-year old Westie, who is a fine pet in all ways but one, is confined to the kitchen by means of an interior invisible fence. Zoe’s tragic flaw is an uncontrollable bladder.
Guido, the geriatric cat (soon to be 18), shares my office. Our office, I should say. All Guido wants out of life these days is to sit in my lap. My writing posture is fairly awkward with a lapful of cat, but I try to accommodate him.
Sam’s room is now occupied by two new kittens. The boys have been begging for a kitten for years. We finally realized that “when Guido dies” wasn’t the optimal response. Tom and Huck are confined until they are old enough to be declawed and loosed on the good furniture.
Where, you might ask, is Sam’s territory with kittens in his room? Waking hours, he hangs out in the game room playing Nintendo and exploring the internet. Nights, he usually sleeps in the kitchen with Zoe (Would DCFS take him from us if we forced him to sleep on a cold tile floor with a dog?).
Evenings, Max has staked out a portion of the kitchen (the one room in the house never empty). The game room was planned for both boys. We purchased a combination computer and TV for them. We did not count on Sam declaring sole ownership. Max marks his territory by spreading his comforter in the floor and surrounding it with candy wrappers as he watches the kitchen TV. That the spot he has chosen blocks the walkway between the kitchen and the rest of the house bothers him not one whit. In fact, he likes the traffic. In an attempt to reclaim the kitchen, we have added a second TV to the game room. When you want a picture of over-indulged children, imagine the Showalter boys sitting side by side watching different video screens.
Allan and I spend our days in our offices. As mentioned above, I share mine with a cat. Allan shares his with his assistant, Jenna. Jenna joined Allan’s business and – by virtue of her office location – our family, last January. She’s been a blessed addition in both areas.
Allan continues as Medical Director of XXXXX (reorganized and renamed YYYYY this year). He sees patients two days a week. All this in addition to the new venture mentioned above. As near as I can tell, he keeps so many balls in the air by limiting his sleep time 2 to 3 hours a night.
I continue to write. My major success in the past year was having a story accepted by a commercial magazine which went out of business the issue before the one in which my story was to have appeared (maybe it wasn’t that commercial after all). I have achieved an odd sort of fame. “This American Life,” a nationally-syndicated public radio show, has been using a clip from one of the stories I recorded for them in their advertising. Several times weekly, on radio stations all over the country, my voice can be heard saying, “It took eight hours to round up the 6,000 turkeys.” When people find out I’m the Turkey Lady they’re very impressed.
Another item on the brave new world front: Allan has set up a Showalter Family Holiday web site. If you want more pictures of the kids, want to read previous years’ Christmas letters (this is an archiving service the world needed), see Sam’s favorite comics, or view Max’s origami projects, go to _____________ .
Recently we drove by Max’s school and Allan asked, “What kind of place is that?” Max’s answer: “A good place. A place with a lot of friends.” This is what we wish for all of you, that you spend your holidays and the coming year in a good place with a lot of friends.
