I honestly love visiting my mom as often as I can.
She lives about 17 hours away.
I moved further out to the edge of the neighborhood after university, however mom still lives in the same cabin I’ve known her to live in, in a small neighborhood near the downtown area. I tend to visit her two to three times a week, and we like talking about life and how things are going and reminiscing and listening to her stories. One thing I have observed lately, however, is that mom prefers hot temperatures more and more. I guess I did not notice all that much when I was a kid. However, as an adult, it seems mom prefers high temperatures on the thermostat. These days it’s nearly unbearable, particularly because it’s the winter, and as a result, she cranks up the thermostat just about as high as it can go. I worry about her, because she has a gas furnace and I imagine her electric bills to be quite high. I insisted that she install carbon monoxide detectors, at least, in the event of a gas leak. I’m thrilled that mom seems to have the funds to maintain her gas furnace, and it’s relatively new, because it was upgraded just a few years ago, which is great. It’s just that I can tell that her frail, old body just can’t seem to retain hardly any heat anymore. That’s why I love getting her all sorts of colorful and comfortable blankets as gifts, which she typically appreciates.