Two sides to every house.

There’s a battle in my home ~ all out warfare.  Since there are only two of us here it’s really more about will than might.  I am talking about the thermostat. 

Hubs is thin blooded.  For whatever reason, however it has happened, he gets cold easily.  He gets chilled.  Now, add to this that he also spent hours working on the pier in 30 degree water temperature, well, things tend to get nippy. 

I am not so much prone to being cold and although I don’t have hot flashes, I am usually warmer than hubs.  If I say “Wow, it’s a little cold in here” you can bet he will have on two sweatshirts and the blanket pulled up to his ears as he reclines for television viewing. 

This past weekend I stayed out in the woods on one side of the house working on trees and leaves while he was on the lake side of the house working on the boat, cleaning and polishing.  He also repaired the pier, while water lapped up and over the sides, soaking his shoes and pants, in a brisk northern wind.   He had promised to move a few piles of leaves for me when he was done with his list.  When he came driving the tractor around the corner of the house with his flannel-lined jacket’s hood cinched to a small circle around his face, I began kissing my list ta-ta.
   

Oh, we moved some leaves.  I had raked up a few piles, and I had removed some bigger maples which were lying in the path.  I had other trees marked that were a little bigger than what I could tackle on my own to take out.  Removal of those on this particular day?  Dismissed.  We had talked about cleaning up a tree limb that had fallen over the winter, raking a bit more in this area, staking out where the shed would go, discussing a parking area…I had a good list, to be sure, but manageable in the time left of this sunny day.  Now, I don’t know about you, but  I can read my husband’s face like a book.  He gets a certain look when he is not interested in discussing my plan, or helping me with a chore…even if it’s been previously agreed.  There may be an ever so faint grunt.  So, my list is again on the back burner and we called it a day.

That’s when the battle lines were drawn inside the house. As hubs begins to take off one layer, and only one, he announced how cold it is in the house.  I agreed it was chilly, but being in the lake will do that, especially on a windy day.  He tells me he can’t get warm.  I point out more blankets in the antique dresser below the TV, and go about making dinner, slightly annoyed.  No sympathy here, pal. 

Next morning, as my toes are toasting here at my desk, I see the thermostat is set higher than we typically set it during the winter, when it’s freezing, literally.  Moving it back down to a steady 68, I make a note that I am going to have to watch this guy like a hawk.  It's on.