Fireplace

“Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful…”

So Susan would not leave the store without the fireplace. She loved it and decided she wanted it. Jeff and I talked to her about comparing prices and looking around, but she was having none of it. She was convinced that if we left the store, the fireplaces would sell out and she might never get one.

The thing is that she had been itching to go somewhere and do something. She just gets that way sometimes, although she generally expresses her desires by telling me that she needs to go to the office, pay her rent, attend mass or pick up something at a store. Sometimes we take her out just because she wants to, even if her mission is misguided. Occasionally it makes her worse, but mostly it works like a charm allowing her to chill a bit- for a day or so anyway.

Realizing she was in one of these moods, Jeff offered to take her to a few of her favorite stores. She strolled the store isles and eyeballed shelved goods as if she were searching for a treasure. Finally she found it in the back of the store! A wood fireplace! Okay, it’s not a real fireplace; but it looks like one. It is a real heater though, and she had been complaining about the cold ever since it dropped below 90degrees sometime last summer.

Once it became evident that if we were going to get Susan home with us, it would be with her fireplace, we gave in. Once it, her and we were loaded up and headed down the highway she chattered incessantly about how it worked and if she needed to get gas or wood logs before we went home. Jeff explained over and over that it looked like a fireplace but was really just an electric heater- no logs, no gas.

It wasn’t until the following night that Jeff was ready to set the thing up in her bedroom. Knowing how excited she was caused us a bit of excitement on her behalf. “No more complaining about being cold,” I pondered. And maybe shower time will be a bit easier since she will feel warmer! Victoria (our granddaughter) even felt the thrill as she helped Grandpa unpack and roll the new object down the hall toward Susan’s room. But the sun had set and Susan’s sundowners had kicked in and she was ready to bite the head off of anyone that entered her room, as if there were a conspiracy against her. She eyeballed the heater suspiciously and grouched some remarks at Jeff. Again he explained that no logs or gas were needed. “Get that thing out of here!” she yelled, “It will give me a bloody nose! It’s too big! It’s too small! I’m warm enough in here!”

The next hour was spent repacking the fireplace into the Styrofoam then into the original box so that it could be returned back to the store. What a waste of time, energy and gas, we all silently shared our thoughts. For the next several days, that neatly repacked box sat in the dining room waiting for an opportunity to be return. But the unwanted box did not go unnoticed sitting there. No, in fact, it fascinated Susan all over again- this whole fireplace in a box thing! She stood by it, touched it, read the box, asked questions and hovered possessively over the thing day after day. Periodically she brought the box to my attention or would grill me with questions regarding it. “Why are you going to return it? Does it get warm? Will it fit in my room? Does it need gas? Can I have it?” Honestly, her new interest frustrated me because I was afraid that another unpacking and repacking might not go over so well around here.

Periodically throughout the days she would disappear and I would inevitably find her admiring the big box with the picture of her rejected fireplace on the front. “Mom, you’ve already decided that you don’t want it. Quit looking at it; we are returning it to the store!” She acted like a lovesick teenager who, we all know, never listen to the best advice. She was in love all over again and it was obvious that she wanted it! I wouldn’t discuss it with her. “Talk to Jeff,” was all I would allow.

Finally she convinced Jeff that she had to have it in her cold dark room. Jeff gave in to his mother’s pleas for a second time this week. Before I knew it, the fireplace was again unpacked and heading for Susan’s room. This time she accepted it as if it were an old friend coming back home. It was hers and she was finally glad to see it. So, we put the familiar green stickers on the power buttons so she could use it by herself. A cold front is headed this way it seems, but don’t worry about Susan, she will be snug by her fireplace heater this winter.

“Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!”

(Note: The stickers mentioned in this blog were Stefanie’s great idea and have served Susan’s needs nicely. We use colored round stickers of red and green. We place them on power buttons of electronics to cut through the confusion. Our microwave has a green dot button on the ‘add a minute’ button so Susan can push it and warm her coffee. We tell her, “Green means go. Red means stop,” in the same way we used to tell our children the same.)