Maggie was close to a mental breakdown.
If she ever doubted that there was such a thing as sensory overload, life with a two-year-old had made her a believer.
That day Jeremy, her two-year-old boy, was crankier than usual. The laptop, which had been at the mercy of Jeremy one too many times, was no longer reliable. It went off at will, and heaven forbid the power went out, she would lose all her data since it had turned into a desktop after years of serving her faithfully. She was standing in the middle of the kitchen, wondering how her life had come to this, when she noticed Jeremy’s runny nose. After a while, she was also sneezing. All the mayhem had overwhelmed her, so she hadn’t seen the goosebumps on her bare hands. That’s when she realized it was cold. She checked the smart thermostat, which confirmed the obvious. She restarted the heat pump, but nothing happened. Panic set in because she could not imagine purchasing a new heating device. She quickly added several layers of clothing to Jeremy and called the heating company because she needed help with indoor comfort. The number said it was out of service, and Maggie could not believe her luck. She double-checked the heating dealer’s number and realized her error. then she redialed it, and it went through. The heating technician assured her he would be at her home within the hour. Fifty minutes later, the HVAC professional worked on Maggie’s heat pump installation. Maggie knew more about heating systems in the heating industry than the average homeowner. Still, she was not in a suitable mental space and needed the heating business to do what it did best. After some heater maintenance, the home heating system was as good as new.