We just got back from a trip to see The Queen Mum and the family. For the last few years, The Big Daddy and I split up for the duration. Mallie Bee and I sleep at Mom’s house, Mark, Will, Maggie and Nathan sleep at my sister’s.
Trouble in Paradise?
The Big Daddy and I used to sleep together on our visits, but The Queen Mum likes her house nice and toasty throughout the year. She keeps her thermostat at 72 degrees in the winter. Just like Florida. In the summer, she keeps her air conditioning at 80 degrees. Just like not turning on the air. Sometimes she’ll get a chill and say, “Is anybody else cold or is it just me?” It’s just you, Mom. Then she cranks up the heat some more and we all lounge around like animals in the zoo waving our tails once in awhile to feel a breeze.
The Big Daddy and I would try to sleep in a bed with flannel sheets and sweat, while every few minutes the furnace would blast more hot air into our already stifling room. Some nights we’d open the window, regardless of the frigid Chicago temps, just to feel some fresh air.
By morning we were zombies. Sleep-deprived, baked zombies and so he moved across town to the digs of my sister and her husband who like their house a little chillier and a lot more internet accessy.
Mal and I stay at Mom’s where there is no limit of good snacks and a remote that jumps between QVC, Say Yes To The Dress and the soaps.
While it is still too warm for my menopausal self, The Mum always keeps at least two bottles of her homemade moonshine……………Irish Cream in the fridge. A couple of shots of that, a closed vent and a wobbly ceiling fan and it’s just like vacationing at your favorite sweat lodge.
