My sister always thought that mom and dad were too strict and she couldn’t wait to get away from them.
I hated it when she decided to go to a college that was halfway across the country.
I knew I was going to miss her, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. She was only in school for a couple weeks when she called and asked if she could come home. She said she had been sick the entire time she was there. Dad flew out to bring her home. When he got there, he said the air quality was so bad that he could smell it when he walked in. Being a HVAC technician, he recognized the problem right away. He said they needed new ductwork in the building and probably a new HVAC system. The air was stagnant and had every smell possible, floating in the air. Some of the other dorm dwellers overheard him and asked if he really thought their being sick was because of the HVAC system. He was quick to say he was pretty positive that if the ancient HVAC system and the ductwork were replaced, the dorm would be a great place to live. Within a couple hours, the kids in the dorm were already talking about getting new HVAC in the building. My sister was proud of dad for offering to inspect the HVAC system and give them a professional opinion to add to their protest. I think it was a change in dad’s and my sister’s relationship that was a long time coming.