So I think 15 years in a row is long enough.
And when it comes to making 15 consecutive trips to the cold climes of the north for Christmas, it’s more than enough.
I’m done with that now. For sure, I’ve had to be a bit more diplomatic about it but enough is enough. I hate leaving the mild winter and my heat pump for a gas furnace that never stops running. That’s what every Christmas has been like since I got married. Not only am I not waking up in my own bed on Christmas morning, I feel like I’m waking up in a sauna. You’d think I’d be dealing with being cold given how far north my in laws live. And believe me, the outside weather is not at all to my liking. But inside, the thermostat is set on equatorial. I’m really not even sure how those people afford all that HVAC heating. The sweat is rolling down my back for the entire week that we are there. Well, that is over and I just broke it to my wife. I think she is secretly relieved to be staying home where the heat pump might come on twice during the holidays. It seems that my wife is as sick of going up there as I am but I have provided her with cover and I can be the bad guy. But I’ve also reached out to the in laws and offered to fly them both down this Christmas. They can stay in the guest room and enjoy the kids and Christmas morning. But it’s just going to be in my house with my thermostat setting.