Our first Christmas together was a surprise on a couple of levels.
- First, I wasn’t exactly prepared for how deeply committed my new wife was to celebrating the holidays.
I knew that she was into it for sure. She was the only one I knew who would wear a Christmas sweater in the air conditioning to mark July 25th. But that first holiday season we shared in our first apartment was something else all together. That apartment was not the finest in the land. It had not the best quality heating and air due to the age and wear on the HVAC equipment. But we were saving our money for a downpayment on a house. So we had to make do in that apartment for a few years. And those first few holiday seasons with my wife are some of my fondest memories of our lives together. Still, I was sort of shocked that like just days after Thanksgiving, that apartment with the so so heating and cooling was filled with holiday candles. I mean filled. My wife likes to spend the evenings of holiday season by candlelight. And indeed, it’s just so beautiful to experience. I don’t think I’ve been cozier than those nights those first years. But all those candles nearly finished off that less than stellar HVAC equipment. All the burnt wax covered the air filter and almost choked out the HVAC unit with limited air flow. These days, as soon as it’s Thanksgiving week, I pick up an entire case of HVAC air filters.