Reality - virtual and otherwise

 Today was a day of great excitement here at our house. William has been wild to get a VR set. He's been saving money but since he's begun saving the prices have gone from $349 to $399. He was discouraged. 

It was actually Ed that gave me the idea. His girls had gotten one, and he said that they played it and played it for a month or so, and then it was simply set aside. 

I wondered if it was possible to get a used unit, so I began snooping around on ebay. The first one was $220. Free shipping. I bought it with pay pal and went to bed. The next morning I got up and saw that the seller had canceled payment, citing a problem with our address. I checked our address and it was correct, so I sent a message asking him what the problem was. 

In reply: "hey thanks for reaching out there is no issues or damages with console, we only accept chime cashapp or Zelle. We are currently having issues with ebay pay at the moment. Shipping is over night with usps so you will have it overnight. Comes with all chords. Everything is included. No damages or scratches runs smooth."

 Okay. I may not be the most technologically gifted person in the world but I did not just fall off the turnip truck yesterday. Of course, I didn't respond to that message. 

William was so upset. "But maybe..." he had a bunch of ideas about getting that VR. I said, "It's a scam, William, Stop it. There are other people out there." He tried to debate it some more. He really wanted that VR. God help us. HE appears to have fallen off the turnip truck yesterday. 

I did some more checking after he went to bed. It is hard to look when you have an excited boy hanging over your shoulder, certain, with all his optimistic heart, that these too good to be true deals were true. I found a seller with a long history of buying and selling on e-bay. He had one negative review out of 832 reviews. His unit was $249 with free express shipping. I bought it. William has $90 at this point. and he will be starting his lawn mowing job. Combined with his allowance and his pay for helping out at the renovation, he could have his VR by the time that school lets out. 

The next morning, I told William what I'd done, and he was thrilled. I did say, "Listen, I know nothing about these things, so what will happen here is that you will get a night to tinker so that we know that it works. When the night is over, it will be packed back up and put away until you get the money to pay for it. 

He quickly agreed this was fair. 

(Side note: we have noticed that having something on a shelf is powerful motivation. Once he has the item in his possession, all the promises of repayment fade away. Then we need to nag and prompt, which I HAAAAATE. We believe in intrinsic motivation vs. extrinsic, and so it is put away. He doesn't know where.) 

It arrived today, and he has had his evening. He's thrilled to smithereens. It had me befuddled, but once in William's hands, he had it up and operating as quick as a wink. We have an Iphone that Cara and Colin gave me to use when I was in the UK. It was an old one that they no longer used, so she sent it back stateside with me. It is perfect for William's new toy and he spent the evening in his room learning his new gadget. 

It works as it is supposed to work and is now packed back up and put away. The ebay review has been given. 

I spent the day in the kitchen. The original plan was to have a homecoming meal for Mattie and family, but that changed up, when Mattie asked Levi to ask me would I come along for the trip. It probably made it more comfortable for her to have someone to talk with for the hour drive home. 

Of course, I said that I would come (miss a chance to admire a newborn baby? Not on your life!), and so the lasagna supper was arranged for their second night home. 

So, I cooked all day, and Tim and I headed out to make our delivery. When we got to their house, it was very quiet. Their old dog sat in the front yard. He no longer barks when we pull in. I carried the lasagna onto their big covered porch. I could see the table neatly set, but no one was in the kitchen. The house was dead quiet.

I have never seen that house dead quiet. Especially the kitchen, which is the heart of the activity. 

We heard a yell behind us. Levi and the boys were coming up from the barn. "Just go on in," he said. So we opened the door and went inside that quiet place. I set the lasagna on the table. Tim set two loaves of garlic bread down along with the texas sheet cake, we turned around to walk back out as Levi was coming in. "What? You're leaving? Mattie will want to see you." He directed me into the bedroom. 

Mattie looked surprised to see me. "We never even heard you pull in!" I imagine not. That room was full of children. One of the little girls was sitting in her little rocking chair tenderly rocking her brother back and forth. A half dozen more children were gathered around. Mattie looked quite weary as she watched from bed. "They've been arguing all afternoon about who gets to hold the baby." 

It made me laugh. The baby isn't sleeping much at night. I observed that all the hubbub just might do the little fellow a world of good. 

I told them all that supper was on the table and we headed back down the hill.