Have you ever played a game like world of Warcraft where you were given the option to go on quests? I have. I had a brief encounter with WOW in 2010/2011 where I entertained the idea of becoming a mage and venturing out on endless numbers of quests and taking on battles and running around discovering all that the virtual WOW world had to offer.

It’s sort of satisfying and fun but at the end of the day, when I had sunk real hours of my real life into an imaginary life, it kinda made me feel a little sick. Time is so precious. I quit and didn’t look back.

Now here I am, years later, reinventing a new character (that I wish had magical powers of some sort) and life keeps handing me these quests and challenges and puzzles. Like the WOW quests, some are tougher than others.

For example, this past weekend the AC went out in one of the areas of our house. I happen to be the resident HVAC expert and have already tackled several similar challenges with my previous character. I did the troubleshooting. Found the problem was with a faulty thermostat, and took steps to get a new thermostat and install it.

Just like that /slaps hands together “no problemo” style .

I had my son help me do the uninstall of the old one and reinstall the new one. My darling daughter was sleeping and so we did not disturb her. It was kinda nice to have some QT with just my son and also a good teaching moment.

That was like a level 3 quest. The universe was probably irritated that I tackled it so easily and so a new challenge was issued.

In order to skip the full backstory, I’ll just offer that there are a few members of our household that have some serious dietary restrictions because of a medical condition. Other members of the household are spoiled and have their dietary “needs” catered to each week.

Part of my new role as household engineer is to make sure everyone’s needs are met. That’s a fancy way of saying I’m the one who does the grocery shopping.

Anyway, several typical items have gone missing lately. It must be understood that I enjoy providing for my crew. I like cooking and shopping and seeing everyone is taken care of. This includes humans, cats, birds, and fish. It’s a healthy house and they need me. It feels great to be needed.

This week I have failed this quest so far. I’ve been to SIX stores looking for three or four specific things and have been denied. Yesterday I cooked chicken breast and forgot it was cooking and baked the bird parts into solid little bricks (and might have ruined the pan too).

Two days this week I have not heard the alarm go off and missed breakfast. And today.. there was nothing prepared that Jim could take in his lunch. It’s his CB day and so he can’t come home for lunch and has to have something to take. I forgot it was Thursday.

Since my win on Tuesday with the thermostat swap, it’s been fail after fail.

Don’t even get me started on the complicated development of events regarding my daughter.

Don’t even get me started on my work taking over my life again and Jim “feeling it”.

Don’t get me started on how it affects me that I can’t be there when they need me. And trust me when I say the grocery thing is just a symptom of a larger systemic issue. It’s 2015 all over again and I barely survived what happened then.

This time has the potential to be way worse. I mean, it’s a pandemic and tensions are high and people are getting twitchy missing “normal” life. The peaks have been higher the last couple years so it stands to reason the valleys can be lower. I’m not equipped for that.

Corrective actions are required immediately. What those are, I don’t know. Where’s the “help” button? How can I toggle to the alternate screen to see what the map looks like or check my bag for supplies? Where did I leave my “time stop” potion?

The only things I have left to say on this subject would lead to seriously mixing my metaphors and ain’t nobody got time for that.

Instead. I’m going to cut it here and see if I can go figure out how to level up.

Game On,
~Miss SugarCookie