Daniel's big gift

We decided back when we were in China that we didn't want Daniel taking over our main computer.  He had installed some of his own frequently-used programs (starting within about an hour of meeting us!) on our laptop, and Tim was nervous that he would alter it in some way that would make it less usable for the rest of us.  Plus the main computer is in the study, where the person who is using it can be out of sight of the rest of the household, and we wanted to keep tabs on what Daniel was looking at.  So when we first got home we let him use the laptop in the living room, but we felt kind of bad about that since the laptop (a netbook, really) has a very small screen while our main computer has a huge screen, and of course with Daniel's vision issues, a small screen makes it harder to use.  Then Tim gave Daniel an older computer that a colleague of his had salvaged and given to him.  That had a much larger monitor, but it is a little slow.  Worst of all [and I'm skipping over a good bit of narrative here], it did not have Windows, and Daniel was not able to properly use some of his favorite programs.  So, Daniel begged for Windows.

He had also, for months, been begging for a new bed.  The one in his room when he arrived is elevated, with a ladder going up to it and storage space underneath it, and he does not like sleeping high up.  Plus he wants a spring mattress rather than a latex mattress...and a full bed rather than a twin bed...and, well, you get the picture!  Ordinarily we would not buy a new bed for a child whose bed is already perfectly adequate, but we are going to need another bed soon anyway when Esther moves into a twin bed, so we had been going to get Daniel a bed for his big Christmas gift.  Then he shared with me that he wanted Windows even more than he wanted a bed.  So we decided to do Windows for Christmas and a bed for his birthday.

But then it seemed not very economical in the long run to spend $100 or more on software for a computer that we expect to be upgrading in the next couple of years.  And then Tim found a really good deal on a whole computer--with Windows already installed--and we decided to get that for Daniel for Christmas.  Only the deal that seemed too good to be true...apparently was just that.  Despite the website's promise that they only advertise goods they have in stock, and despite their cheery automatically-generated e-mail telling us to expect it the week before Christmas, it didn't come.  We waited a few days after Christmas, and it still didn't come.  Nor was there any evidence that it had ever been sent.  Nor was the company returning phone calls or e-mails.  So Tim went through our credit card company to dispute the purchase (being as we didn't want to pay for something we were beginning to think we would never get).  That generated a communication from the company that they were shipping our product...except that as the days went by and we kept checking the UPS site for progress, it became clear that the company had generated the shipping label but had not actually shipped anything.  Meanwhile the credit card had investigated our case and found no problems, so informed us that if we were responsible for the bill and they would report us to the credit reporting agencies if we did not pay on time.  More phone calls, both to the computer-selling company (which did not answer, of course) and to the credit card company.  Upon further contact from the credit card company, the computer company finally mailed the computer, only about four weeks late.

Meanwhile, we had not told Daniel about the computer.  At first we wanted it to be a big Christmas surprise, and then we didn't want it to be a bitter disappointment if we had to cancel the order and go back to just buying Windows.  We did have fun teasing him about his Windows.  Tim told him at one point, with a straight face, that we should go to Lowe's to look at windows since they sell very good ones there.  Daniel thought that was hilarious, and brought it up for days.  On Christmas we printed out a picture of a window and put it in an envelope to tell him that his Windows really was coming...we just didn't know when.  Then when we were finally expecting it to arrive, Tim teased him again by telling him he had better start taking his bedroom window out to get ready for installing the new one when it arrived.  Daniel was pretty sure Tim was not serious, but he did double-check it with me.  For my part, when the computer box arrived and Daniel noticed how big it was, I managed to keep a straight face while telling him that I hoped after all the problems this company had caused us, they hadn't sent us the wrong product in the end!  So Daniel had no idea what was going on, but he was one happy boy when he found out!

Meanwhile, just as Daniel was oohing and aahing over his computer, Esther came over and got all excited...about the packing peanuts!  I still have bad memories of trying to clean up statically-clinging packing peanuts after Esther dumped a box of them out in the kitchen one time, but I was in the middle of making dinner and I thought that since this was such a big occasion for Daniel, Esther ought to have something fun to do to.  So I let her get in the box.

At least the mess stayed somewhat contained, although I think Tim had to vacuum her off when he took her out.  If you have ever tried to clean up packing peanuts that are broken into the bits--they are the most effective demonstration of static electricity I have ever seen, and the more you try to brush them off the harder they stick.  But at least she had fun, Tim and Daniel got to set up the computer in peace, and I got dinner done.

And now Daniel has his own computer, in the living room, that he can install his own programs on and turn all the commands into Chinese so that he knows which buttons to push to do what he wants to do.  So he has been happily spending every afternoon setting it up just the way he wants it.  And hopefully, it will last us for a few years!