​The Silent Battle of the Family Thermostat by Pennie Hunt

Whenever I visited my mom, the battle would begin. She was always cold. Even though she would wear layers of clothes, and I would gift her with lap blankets, sweaters and jackets, she was never warm enough. She kept her thermostat set to 80 degrees. Year round- 80 degrees.

I understood that aging brings slower circulation, slower metabolism, thinner skin, and the loss of ability to generate enough heat to be comfortable. I was sympathetic to this – hence the gifts of lap blankets, sweaters, and jackets.

Visiting my mom was like being in a sauna you couldn’t escape from. I couldn’t argue enough to persuade her to bump it down a bit. My mom was a tiny four-foot-nothin little powerhouse of a woman who wasn’t afraid to stand her ground. There was no compromise. She wanted it set where she wanted it set. That was that—​ end of conversation.

So, the silent battle would begin.

Every time I walked down the hallway, I would stop at the thermostat and inch down the number to where it was tolerable for a human to survive.
Every time she walked down the hallway, she would bump it back to her sweatbox number of 80.   

We didn’t talk about it, we didn’t scold each other, we didn’t even make eye contact. We just slyly changed the temperature back and forth. Back and forth.

I look back on those days with humor in my heart like I am remembering a Sunday night sitcom on TV. I wish my mom was still here to battle with, but I​ ​realize that the ​Battle of the ​Thermostat didn’t end with my mom. It has become the same in my home.

My husband and I are rarely at the same climate-controlled body temperature. I can become overheated while cooking in the kitchen, and he can be chilly sitting in a chair reading. I like to sleep with the windows open and a ceiling fan on, and he likes to snuggle under layers of blankets, closed windows, and no fan. In the summer, I freeze if the AC is too cold, and he likes the house to feel like a meat locker.

The silent battle has begun.

We have this fancy thermostat that can be controlled on our phones. I can sit in my home office and inch the temperature up or down to where it is tolerable for MY idea of human survival.

He can sit in his reading chair at the opposite side of the house and adjust the setting to his comfort level. We don’t talk about it, we don’t scold each other, we don’t even make eye contact. We just slyly change the temperature back and forth.

I am pretty sure this is a common family battleground. After all, we are all different ages, shapes and sizes and have different set points for our preferred temperature of comfort. I am certain that even with our work families, there are varied opinions of what the desirable heat and AC adjustment should be.

Recently I noticed two new warriors in our ​Battle of the ​Family ​Thermostat. Our dogs. Zenee just turned 8 and loves to sleep on her back to cool off her tummy and lay her head on the cool wood floor. Gracie just turned 9 and insists on wearing her lightweight coat in the house and sleeps with her paws tucked under her as if she is freezing.
They don’t have their own phones, or the four-way battle would begin. Our thermostat would probably blow up!
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                                                 Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                            None of us feel life at the same temperature. 
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​                   GRACIE

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Zenee 

YOUR TURN...        
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