Christmas Virtually Together

A lot of people have asked me if we were going to go to Wisconsin or Pennsylvania to see our children and grandchildren. Not really too practical or affordable. Well, both Rachel and David as well as Leanne and Jon sent us web cams for Christmas, which is a way to see and talk to each other live. While we didn't figure out how to give hugs and kisses over the internet, we did have an exciting sense of almost being together this afternoon.

The sense of "what's happening in the family" suddenly became more immediate. We could actually see Elizabeth walking unassisted. Sam was hamming it up with a stuffed penguin (he's really into penguins) for the camera. Hannah could show us the scarf and ear rings she got for Christmas (what does it say when your granddaughter shows off clothing accessories and not toys?). Isaac told us about his basketball game (we didn't get to Cub Scouts).

Of course, since we got two web cams we have to decide what to do with the other one. When Erik gets back from work (we do expect him here tonight), we should see if he has a cam on his lap top or if he would want the second one. He did get 4.0 for this semester. One of the classes (senior/graduate level) he will be taking for his music minor next semester (the last one before graduation in May) is on Frank Zappa. Hard to believe a serious university course on a musician from the rebellion of the 60s who didn't seem to take anything seriously.

We also got some nice family photos for Christmas. We're delighted to share them with anyone who wants to see.