Furnaces: 99.94% Effective

I’ll be 30 years old in April and as far as I can recall, I have had a working furnace every week of my life.

Except this last one.

So really, I have nothing to complain about.

In fact, in college, my husband and I lived in an old hotel-style apartment which was situated directly above the noisiest, most vigorous boiler you can imagine. It made the whole little brick building so blazing hot nearly year-round that we called it The Brick Oven. (The lack of air-conditioning of any kind ensured the summer months were right up there in temperature as well.) So all things considered, I have probably partaken of more than my fair share of generated heat in my life to this point.

In addition to celebrating ~1543 weeks straight of having instant access to warmth whenever I desired it, I’m also celebrating the following today:

– We are renting. So we will not be paying a penny of the major bill coming for a new furnace and heat pump.

– Our old furnace’s 28th birthday! It passed without any fanfare about a month ago, but considering furnaces usually only last 15-20 years according to The Internet, I should say ours deserves some recognition for “hanging in there” for so long.

– We can put a space heater in each bedroom and crank them about halfway up before blowing a fuse. That keeps everyone comfortable at night.

– We moved last year! In Oregon it is a balmy 36 degrees right now. If we were still living in Columbus, Ohio, we’d be hovering at 19 with snow in the forecast.

– My husband is more sympathetic than usual when the dishes stack up. 😉 I have poor circulation in my hands and getting them wet when the house is this cold is bad news.

– Feetie pajamas all day long! My kids love it.

– Oatmeal, mulled cider, and pretty much any warm meal all taste 10x better than they did last week.

– Many memories have been made. Big piles of pillows and blankets with popcorn to snuggle close and watch a movie… dancing around the kitchen to stay warm… warm mugs of water on demand… I did mention 24×7 pajamas, yes? … working out with Scott in the evenings and doing crazy jumping jacks to help us warm up faster…

– We are on day 5 without heat and aside from a few giggly “I’m freezing!” comments from our oldest (and skinniest) child, I can honestly say that the only complaints I’ve heard about the recent temperature change in our house have been from me and Scott. My kids are total troopers and they inspire me to toughen up.

The adventure is slated to end 3-4 days from now so we’re trying to enjoy it while it lasts. 😉