a challenging task

First PlayMobile, and later Legos. These were Alexander's earliest obsessions.

He would open the instructions (usually several age levels above his own) and meticulously follow them. I was in awe of this talent;  it certainly wasn't inherited from me.

I have never been good at simple instruction-following. I resist buying things that require assembly. But sometimes there is no choice.

My all-in-one printer isn't compatible with my new MacBook Pro (that I love).  I have to get a new one. 

I order a wireless Canon printer (Pixma MG7720); better than the Canon I bought eight years ago at almost half the price. It arrives. And it sits in my living room in a huge cardboard box for about a week. 

But today it's snowing. Finally. So it's the perfect day for indoor jobs — even ones I find intimidating.

I use a box cutter to open the huge box.

It's filled with lots of brown paper that I remove. Environmentalists would not be happy.

I next cut the clear tape that's hiding in a million places. 

I remove the printer from the box, unwrap the five ink cartridges, and find the four-page quick set-up instructions, knowing it won't be quick.

I unplug and move my old printer to make space for the new one. 

I carry the new printer back to the space where the old printer was.

I then take a break —shower, make some calls, do a few emails.

I start where I left off, and the next part goes pretty smoothly. 

Until I get to the wireless connection part. There is no connection. I do a few obvious things; nothing works.

I call Canon. Get a great guy. Very knowledgeable and clear in his directions.

"Log on to your computer. "

"Go to Applications."

"Open a folder called Canon Utlities."

"Now click on this and download that. Use this program instead of the one labeled that."

"Okay, now open Settings."

"Under settings blah blah blah."

I do everything he tells me to do and it works.

None of his instructions are anywhere in the Quick Set Up Guide; and nothing he directs me to do is intuitive.

Still, I test the printing and it works. The scanning too.  And the copying.

Everything is functioning as it should. 

The pride I feel is disproportionate to the task.