When our folks moved closer to grandma, we had to get a new lake house.
It was new to us, but it was an older lake house.
We were 3 doors away from grandma, but the home was much older. We could not believe how beat up it was inside, but our folks said we would only stay for six months, or until we could talk grandma into moving back home with us. Grandpa had passed away over the summer, and our folks didn’t want grandma living alone through the winter. The first thing dad did was have a Heating and A/C professional look at the Heating and A/C system in the lake house. After a cursory inspection, the Heating & A/C professional told them to have fun with the furnace. We asked our folks what she meant by that, and they told us the furnace was for burning wood or coal. There was no way to use it with heating fuel, and the heat was all gravity fed. We asked if it was a safe heating system, and they said yes. Our folks also told us that unless you had a good source of wood, it would be so much work and money to keep enough wood around to heat the old ;ale house. We asked if they expected to be in the home over winter, and our folks said they hoped not. They loved Grandma and knew she could be stubborn, but they hoped this time she would just agree to come home with us. Our folks were right about her being stubborn, but her hopes were for naught. Grandma dug her heels in, and she refused to leave. Our folks had to use that natty old furnace for the entire winter before grandma said she was ready to leave her home.