It was a typical hockey tournament weekend: lots of hanging out at rinks and hotel pools, staying up too late and eating way too much fast food. There was the usual quiet drive home, Frank dozing in the back seat next to Teresa, who had cried over having to leaving the hotel behind but eventually made her peace with it. There was the moment of relief when home came into view, still standing. Then unloading and unpacking and trying to get ready for another workweek. Until Teresa called from the living room, “Mom, there’s something wrong with the TV.” That’s not unusual; it could have been that the cable box was unplugged, or someone was using the DVD player and hadn’t changed the settings back. But when I went in, that wasn’t the case. The TV was on, there was sound, but there was no picture. I unplugged it, waited a bit, plugged it in again. No change. A quick Google search showed that no matter what the problem was, the lowest estimated repair cost was about $250, for a cheap TV that we bought on sale four years ago for less than $200. Maybe not. Another Google search: A similar TV was on sale for $229. Decision made. So Tony and I left Teresa with her brother and sister and headed out to get a new TV, then stopped at the grocery store because we were out of town and needed food. At the grocery store, Tony’s phone rang. It was Frank. His computer was broken and he couldn’t do his homework because the teachers posted everything he needed online. He needed a ride to the Apple store. When we got home from the grocery store, Teresa and I set up the new TV — she’s great at getting batteries into remotes with her little 6-year-old fingers — and got it connected. Tony took Frank to the Apple store, where they were given an appointment in two hours, so they came back. Teresa and I finished the TV, made dinner and started working on getting her camera open. It needed batteries and the faceplate that comes off was stuck. Frank and Tony went back to the Apple store. We managed to replace the camera batteries and Teresa took a few pictures before I put her to bed. Then I started working on figuring out why my phone wouldn’t charge. Apparently, the cable was faulty. Then I started the weekend’s laundry. Tony and Frank came back, computer fixed, so Frank could finish his homework. I opened my computer to check email, and the work and school week was under way. Through all that, the house was warm, no one went hungry, no one was hurt or sick or in any kind of danger. The dog was happy to see us. We had jobs and school to go back to. As annoying as the pileup of technology problems was — especially all right on top of one another — life was good. There are plenty of blessings to count. But maybe I should use an abacus.
About the Author Michelle Martin is staff writer at Chicago Catholic. Contact her at [email protected].