Don’t worry, it’s okay.  Amanda and I classify our home as a “family farm” since her garden is as big as Kansas itself, so our six year old is allowed to serve as our HVAC technician.  Actually, that is not only not quite the truth, it is not true at all, other than the part about the garden and having a six year old.  What is true is that I was changing the furnace filters today and Ben not only wanted to learn about them, but also help.  So we began with the number one basic rule……working with anything mechanical and/or electrical, the first thing to do is to turn it OFF, and we did.

And Ben thought he was “all that” to quote the famous Amanda Bynes, who I really used to love on Nickelodeon, but who clearly like many child actors, succumbed to the pressures of stardom.  I am certain I would have been different given the chance, but alas childhood stardom and Hollywood was not in the cards for me, nor is it as an adult (if I ever get there).  But my shattered dreams have very little to do with HVAC, or with Ben’s ever expanding trade skills.  I can already tell that one day I will be working for him.

The bottom line however is that the filters have been replaced and we are good to go for quite some time.  I will say that we have two furnaces and therefore two filters.  One I had forgotten to change as I had the wrong size a year ago and even though it still looked good we changed it.  But the other was really due to be replaced in May and was filthy.  And as I thought about it, the clean filter that lasted so long was for the side of the house with our bedroom and my office.  The dirty filter which still had three months was from the side with……..wait for it……all the kids’ bedrooms!  So despite my lack of stardom in films, if there was an Academy Award for hygiene I would be a lock.

But our time together changing filters was a time to teach as well.  Ben now understands the difference between return air ducts and heating ducts, he also understand air flow.  Stuff like that may seem ridiculous to some to teach a kid, but the more you learn the more you same later.  I can fix most things in my house for the cost of parts.  My kids will be able to too.  After all, who wants to pay someone $50 to put in a $20 air filter.  Labor is expensive, but not in our family.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+