It isn’t a battle about the
children, pets or vehicles. It isn’t even a battle about the toilet paper
roll (a battle going on for the past 20 years, it will not end soon and it will
not end well). The battle I am talking about is the battle of the furnace.
Shortly
after we returned from spring break, “click” off went the furnace. It was a
beautiful Easter morning with snow gently falling while my teeth chattered.
What is going on? Wait. Let me guess. I went over to investigate and sure
enough, the furnace was off. So, I quietly turned it back on … and up.
My husband,
Tom, is a hopeless optimist, especially when it comes to spring. He simply
cannot wait to ride his motorcycle or grill stuff on his super-deluxe grill. As
soon as the Easter snow melted, the winter coats were boxed up and the doors
propped open.
“It’s 40
degrees out!” I protested.
“It’s
spring!” he grinned. “Boys! We’re getting the deck furniture out of the shed!”
Then it
snowed again. I considered posting an apology on Facebook since it was our
premature placement of deck furniture that caused a round of flurries. Once
again, I found myself wearing fleece pants, double thick Christmas socks and
bootie slippers. Once again, I checked the furnace. “Doggone it!”
And “click”
I turned the furnace back on.
This past
weekend it was relatively warm, but not the 70 degrees they promised us.
I unloaded
and loaded the dishwasher Saturday morning and thought to myself, “I should be
warm, but for some reason I’m not … well, whatdaya know?”
You guessed
it. The furnace was off again. This time it was a little more understandable.
It had been a really warm week, but we have such a well insulated house it can
be pretty warm outside. But, it will be nose-cold inside.
Since Tom
was working in the garage I took the opportunity to check the furnace, find it
turned off, and turn it back on again. When he came back in and heard it
running I said, “Don’t you turn the furnace off, it’s freezing in here!”
Later I went
into town and came back to find Tom out on a ride. Gosh, my feet just wouldn’t
warm up even after I put on my super warm socks and a sweatshirt.
The furnace
was on … or was it? Nope. Off again. So I did what I always do and turned it
back on.
Our little battle is usually a friendly one and fortunately, like
many other things, reminds me winter is on its way out along with my fleece
pants, double-thick Christmas socks and bootie slippers.