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Huzzah! We turned down the thermostat!


Laura Corin
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For budget and comfort reasons, we prefer to keep our thermostat low.  We are not on mains gas and it costs a lot to heat the house.  We wear lots of layers and run the wood stove (with our own wood) in the sitting room.  For the last two years my mum has been living with us and we've needed to up the thermostat.  She's moved out now and we are back to our more normal 15 degrees C (59F).  It feels much cosier to pull out my thick wool sweater and fleece-lined trousers, and snuggle up with a dog on my lap.

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I hope the situation with your mom has turned out for the best!  

 

Thanks.  She's moving into a care home after a spell in hospital.  The family has reached the limit of its mental resources, so the move is the right thing.  She's not happy, and who can blame her?  She will have a lovely large room in an old mansion, with views over an estuary to the hills in one direction, and up the river in the other.  The carers seem human and it's only 20 minutes from home, so I can keep an eye.

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The inside temperature sounds symbolic of all the ways you're now able to make lifestyle choices that genuinely suit you and your family. 

 

And I agree with Carol that stretching to meet your mother's needs for the past few years was a generous and beautiful thing to do, and that her new place really sounds exceptional.

 

Amy

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Thanks.  She's moving into a care home after a spell in hospital.  The family has reached the limit of its mental resources, so the move is the right thing.  She's not happy, and who can blame her?  She will have a lovely large room in an old mansion, with views over an estuary to the hills in one direction, and up the river in the other.  The carers seem human and it's only 20 minutes from home, so I can keep an eye.

That sounds like a great choice for a difficult situation but I understand, new places always stress me out at first. Eventually I get used to it and grow to love it, wondering the whole time why I made such a fuss.  Now as to the temp, I like it cool (around 68-69 F) 59 is what I would consider cold, brrrr.

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The inside temperature sounds symbolic of all the ways you're now able to make lifestyle choices that genuinely suit you and your family.

 

And I agree with Carol that stretching to meet your mother's needs for the past few years was a generous and beautiful thing to do, and that her new place really sounds exceptional.

 

Amy

Thank you. I think the past two years have been the worst of my life.

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Thank you. I think the past two years have been the worst of my life.

I hope you are able to fully recover. My mom struggled mightily even after my dad's brother moved to a care home. The relationship was not mother-daughter, obviously, but his years of living with my parents were particularly hard on my mom.

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I hope you are able to fully recover. My mom struggled mightily even after my dad's brother moved to a care home. The relationship was not mother-daughter, obviously, but his years of living with my parents were particularly hard on my mom.

The family is intact and I'm seeing a therapist. I think we'll be ok.

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Thanks. She's moving into a care home after a spell in hospital. The family has reached the limit of its mental resources, so the move is the right thing. She's not happy, and who can blame her? She will have a lovely large room in an old mansion, with views over an estuary to the hills in one direction, and up the river in the other. The carers seem human and it's only 20 minutes from home, so I can keep an eye.

Laura, you have served her so well. Enjoy a season of self-care with no regrets! You have earned it.

 

And her placement actually sounds marvelous.

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Meanwhile, across the pond, my air conditioner is on  :laugh:

 

Your mom will settle in, I'm sure, and it will be much easier for you to be positive and "on" when you visit her, not being dragged down by the day-to-day issues. Some people are truly just very hard to live with, regardless of age. 

 

I have a big family, so it's inevitable that there is frequently someone ill or hurt or old, lol. One thing I do is send cards and letters even when the person is very close by. I can do that more often than I can visit, and it can be a nice distraction. I do it even for the people who don't seem the type to particularly care about getting a card, because it's simple enough and at least they know I thought of them. If they roll their eyes and throw it out, no big deal. 

 

Enjoy your cold house!

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