At some point today, I will take a deep breath and dig in. I have five Amazon Prime purchases to debox and set up. The prospect of making each of them usable is, to me, frightening.

First, our new microwave oven. It’s in a box marked (by Amazon) “HEAVY”, but I don’t think it is really that heavy. What I recall is that the ad said it weighed 33 pounds. I should be able to handle that, even though I have to lift is rather high to get on its shelf. And then, although I measured the shelf (enclosed on four sides, and of a certain depth) and I looked closely at the measurements of the microwave, what if I calculated wrong? Or what if the machine itself is a lemon? Or what if the plug is too big to fit through the hole on the top of the shelf to get to the electric socket and, therefore, we have to redo the entire kitchen? Or what if I have to send it back and I can’t get it back in the box correctly or if I get to the Post Office or USPS or Fedex or wherever and they refuse to take it? Or what if it just doesn’t work well? A microwave bought on line (a first for us, to be sure) is a frightening thing.

Second, our new vacuum cleaner. Now, we don’t rely on our own vacuum cleaner for heavy vacuuming. We have someone come in every two weeks to do that. But there are those times when carpets need to be vacuumed. Well, I know how tall a vacuum cleaner is, unless it is built for children to operate, and the box which holds our vacuum cleaner is just not that big. You know what that means. That means that it has to be put together. And anything that has to be put together is frightening. Plus, the vacuum cleaner is a brand that I have never heard of. It’s a Shark. The names scares me, too. What if it turns on me? What if it only operates in deep salt water? So many potential problems.

Luckily, the other items are smaller. One is a holder for my phone when I am driving a car and need to look at GPS. Right now, I just set the phone down and look down and Edie tells me that this is dangerous and that it would be better if I could just look at the road. And, to be fair, I have long envied those Uber drivers who have their GPS at eye level. When I went on Prime to buy a cell phone holder, I saw that I had thousands of options and that each one, although they were priced differently, looked pretty much the same. I saw that some operated through suction and others through attachment to the heat and air conditioning vents. I struggled over which kind to get, until I realized that I had no idea. So I just bought one. I honestly don’t remember which kind I bought or whether it will fit my car, or fit my phone, at all. I also don’t know where to put it so that it won’t distort my vision, but I assume that once I have placed it securely on the car, I won’t be able to move it very easily. Finally, I did look inside the box, and see that it comes in pieces. Why? I thought I would be able to take it out of the box and just put it on the car dashboard. But it looks more complicated than that.

Then, there are my Bluetooth ear buds. Now I have lived for 81 years without ear buds, but for some reason on Prime Day, they seemed essential. I had no idea how they would work. But it seems that the buds fit into a case, and the case has to be electronically charged with the buds in the case, and they can be charged by my laptop, and then placed in my ears (and there seems to be one specifically for my left ear and one for my right ear, although I don’t know why), and then they have to be paired with my phone so that the Bluetooth will work. I will probably figure out how to do all of this. But – honestly – when will I use them?

And finally there is my TV fire stick. I had never even heard of a TV fire stick, but once I saw it on Prime Day, I said to myself (and to Edie), “that is exactly what we need”. Well, we will see if it makes our smart TV smarter. After all, that is the goal, I think. I looked at the start of the instructions which said that I needed my wifi password (that’s easy) and my Amazon Prime subscription details. I guess I can dredge those up, too. Maybe this will be a quick set-up, but based upon my experience with a smart TV, the TV may outsmart it and it may turn out to be both complicated and useless. We will see.

So, I don’t know what you have planned for today. But my day is filled.