I have to say, the reality of my situation has finally settled in today.
A week ago I left my abusive job and the next week I have to travel back home to wrap up my doctor’s appointments before my insurance is cancelled.
This shouldn’t be a huge task, but I do get nervous about the 12-hour drive between here and home. Even more so, I worry about my health once I’m back inside my mom’s house. She and I have a tumultuous relationship and her quirks can be extremely challenging. One of her strangest ticks is her obsession with the central heating and cooling system. For as long as I can remember, my mom has been very strict about her thermostat settings and HVAC usage. She never wants to utilize the central heating or cooling system because the energy bills are so expensive. I have many memories growing up of uncomfortably cold winters and brutally hot summers. When I go back to visit her as an adult, she hasn’t changed her utility bill obsession or misguided underuse of the central heating and cooling system. It truly gives me anxiety to consider her low indoor air quality and the sleepless nights I will face. There’s only one thing that is filling me with hope right now; the brutally hot summer headed our direction. Because my mom has a large basement, I should be able to camp out below ground for my entire visit. The space is already inherently cooler than the rest of the house. I know she’ll be forced to use her central AC unit at some point, which will make the basement extra cool in spite of the outdoor heat. If I didn’t have the option to sleep in her ice cold basement, I would probably shell out the cash to use the HVAC at a hotel.
