Perspective

Tis' the season for stress.

Last night I was installing software updates on my iPhone when the screen took a little tailspin and I was left with this image:

I think a reasonable person would have looked at this image and followed the clear-as-day instructions:

1. Plug USB drive into computer
2. Connect USB drive to phone
3. Open iTunes. 

I decided to panic slightly and Google "iPhone displaying USB cord and iTunes icon." Which lead to more panicky-sweats after I read the comment section of Yahoo Answers. Which indicated that I would need a new phone and warned me to "Never futz with the settings!" 

I didn't futz! Who are you and why are you leaving answers on Yahoo Answers anyways?

After a failed attempt at restoring my phone, I decided to deal with it in the morning.

This morning, Ingrid woke up dry heaving. Her breath was horrible and she looked as bad as her breath smelled. She's only been sick twice before (not bragging, I understand her time will come!) so I'm not really sure what to do in these situations. As she snuggled with Dan, I slipped out of bed to call Apple Tech Support while Googling "Dry heaving, 20 months old."

The results were not comforting.

After 15 minutes with tech support, I had instructions for reviving the sad phone. If everything failed, I heard the magic words "This phone is still under warranty." So I wasn't too worried.

As I was wrapping up with Adam from Apple, he encouraged me to "Try and have a good day, ok?" Which made me pause.

Did I tell him about Ingrid? I've been know to over-share personal information with people (baristas, cashiers, random people at Target). But no, I didn't tell him about Ingrid and he was referencing the inconvenience of not having my phone for perhaps 1 hour or maybe living without it for a few days.

Now, I might be singing a different tune if my phone was busted and I had to endure the pain of going to the Apple store or purchasing a new phone before the holidays, but we're all good. I did loose about four months of pictures of Ingrid - which stinks (just about as bad as Ingrid's breath). 

These comments paired with Ingrid's weird sickness this morning put things into perspective.

Technical issues are inconvenient at best and temporarily stressful and expensive at worst but, no one is hurt or hungry. As I started to make my to-do list the feelings of stress and panic crept back. Stress over the dollars to be spent, the miles to be driven and the calorie-rich meals to be consumed.

At some point you have to say - Fuck it. For a measly four weeks out of the year everything is wild. Stores are loud, bright and tempting. Calendars are busy. People are nuts. Debit cards have never seen so much action. But it's a wonderful time of the year spent with family and friends. You can eat five cookies and no one will judge you. They'll want to join you. Now, can you please show me how to back up my phone, so the moments of Ingrid opening her gifts and smiling at lights are not lost!