Thermostat Wars

Every couple seems to have one person in it that is always hot and the other that is always cold. I sometimes wonder if the Lord planned it this way, sort of a test to make sure we can negotiate on the trivial stuff to help prepare us for life's bigger challenges.

Early in my marriage, my husband and I had the very logical discussion about how I should win this battle half of the year and he should win the other half. After all, if we kept the house a little warmer in the summer and a bit colder in the winter, it would help save energy ... and money. This wasn't to last however. After all, logic rarely wins out in relationships, especially once kids get involved. Believe me. My kids get involved...and they're on their dad's side.

I'm the one in my family that's always cold. I don't know if this is a result of growing up in the Arizona desert or genetics or just my own quirkiness, but I'm definitely prone to sneak over to the thermostat when no one is looking and turn it up by a degree or two. It never lasts. One would think that out of four kids, at least one would take after me. Not one. Everyone else in the house seems perfectly content to live inside a house that is just a few degrees warmer than a refrigerator.

You would think that with a background in intelligence I could win this battle, but no. I had to go out and marry someone who is both brilliant and observant (and constantly teaching our children to be the same.) These are the times when I have to remind myself that these are good qualities...just annoying sometimes.

Just how bad can it be? Fall is beginning and I'm already sleeping with three blankets instead of two. I'm rarely seen around the house without a sweatshirt on, even in July. I've even been known to keep an extra pair of socks in my desk drawer for when I forget to bring some downstairs from my room. After all, with a commute like mine I wouldn't want to have to backtrack...it would take a whole, oh thirty seconds.

So I sit here wearing my flannel pajamas, sweatshirt and thick socks and consider. The man who always wins the thermostat wars in my house is also the one who has to commute 90 miles each day for work. I only have to walk down the stairs. He actually likes the fact that I'm home to be here for our kids instead of being out in the workforce earning a second paycheck. He doesn't complain that the house is often messy because I spent all day playing with the kids or writing on the computer. He's supportive of my dreams, even those that seem out of reach, and often sacrifices to help them come true. Maybe this is why I really keep losing the thermostat wars. After all, what's a little sacrifice for the one you love?