I grew up in a house with one bathroom. Maybe it explains my lack of modesty. It meant for lots of showering while listening to someone peeing, little time for primping and drying hair, and a firm belief that sticking to a schedule makes life a lot easier (Jillian and Ethan showered at night, my mom, dad and I took our turns in the morning, and no deviation was allowed).
We live in a house that has the 21st-century corrollary to one bathroom-- one computer. We have four computer users, all scheming for their fair share of screen time. Granted, two of those computer users are barely literate, but for some reason their parents thought that teaching them to manipulate the mouse was up there in importance with teaching them to recognize their letters and colors. And in their eyes, the Curious George cd ranks in importance with my blog posts or Sports Guy's latest column.
So it takes some creative juggling to make everyone happy. I get unlimited access to the computer right after Isaac goes down for his nap, then Annie takes a turn. Bryce takes over when he gets home from school (mostly to look up the actors from Star Wars on imdb). Then Eddie and I jockey for position in the evenings.
In a year or so, we'll be able to afford a laptop. I'm sure I'll be as happy on the day we do as I was on the day my parents finally moved into a house with two bathrooms.
Until then, if I don't post on my blog, you can just imagine Annie sitting at the computer, googling Disney princesses and telling me that I can take my turn later.
--originally published 1/24/06
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