By Amy Marchiano

How do you deal with frustration?

The pandemic has upended life for so many and has definitely been a cause of frustration and unfathomable grief.

If I am being honest, coping with frustration is sometimes difficult.

Perhaps it is my perfectionist nature.

Today I had a list of 18 things to accomplish and only completed five. Writing this was one of the goals.

If my air purifier didn’t decide to die on me, more things might have been crossed off my list. Installing new HEPA filters was one of my earlier tasks, along with doing dishes.

I didn’t expect to encounter problems replacing the filters. While turning on the air purifier, which is a couple years old, I didn’t hear the usual sound when it works properly. I reinstalled the filters and closed the door. No luck. I plugged it in a different outlet. No luck. I kept my original instruction paperwork that says there is a five-year warranty. I haven’t looked for the receipt, but I’m sure it is somewhere.

I then did research online. By this time, I was getting annoyed. I really don’t like not finding the answer to something. I decided to take out the screws and attempt to disconnect the fan. At least 30 minutes had elapsed from when I started what I thought would be an easy task. Not wanting to waste any more time, I went to Walmart and bought a new air purifier. The old one is here in my bedroom still not functioning.

While going to the bank to make a deposit, the ATM would not let me deposit money into my savings account. I tried twice. This time I wasn’t as frustrated as I was with the air purifier. I drove to another bank and deposited the money. On the way I noticed a child’s bright colored ball on North George Street in North York in York County.

The ball was rolling along in the right lane as if it was going to York City.

That’s how life is sometimes. We have to roll along with unexpected events.

You are probably wondering why I am writing about York County. I live in York where I am from originally.

I moved from Schuylkill County, where I lived for eight years and four months while writing for The Republican-Herald, to take a job at another paper near York and was laid off for pandemic reasons.

I then was fortunate enough to report once again on Schuylkill County for the Times News.

Some people deal with frustration well and roll with what life gives them. Perspective matters.