I come from a long line of worriers. Some of them were world-class fretters, constantly obsessing over the most unlikely things. I’m not a fretter. The worrying tendencies manifest in me as being over prepared.

For instance, even though the battery of my smartphone normally has no problem lasting through a day at work and an evening of dinner with friends afterward, I have a case that contains a spare battery which can recharge the phone from absolutely dead to more than 80%. Plus, in my backpack I carry adapter cables so that I can recharge either the phone inside the case, or the phone and case simultaneously using USB ports on a computer. And I carry a small adaptor for charging directly if there is no computer. And finally, The backpack also contains an external battery and adaptors that, if there is no power at all, can recharge my smartphone and power a dead laptop for about four hours.

And I’m not sure I have enough of my bases covered.

I know this is paranoid overkill.

The backpack has a spare two day supply of my prescription meds just in case. Plus a collection of over-the-counter allergy meds, tylenol, and other minor medications. During the cold part of the year there’s a pair of gloves and a stocking cap always in there, along with a pair of sunglasses that will fit over my eyeglasses. In the warm parts of the year the gloves and hat are replaced by a slightly rain-proof windbreaker.

And you don’t want to know how many pairs of eyeglasses I have and where…

I also misplace things. All the time. I can lose, find, and re-lose a set of keys ten times in less than ten minutes. So I have spares of lots of things, because sometimes you don’t have time to spend twenty minutes figuring out where something is.

I know that preparing for hypothetical difficulties is an attempt to control the future. Which is uncontrollable. On the other hand, the quirks it manifests as for me aren’t disruptive to other people’s lives, doesn’t interfere with my ability to interact with friends and family, and it means I’m not stressing over things I can’t control. At least I’m not likely to worry myself into a heart attack.

Besides, watching me unpack my backpack looking for something causes some of my friends great mirth. And the world can always use more laughter.

Right?