My mom has been living alone for several years now.
She doesn’t need to be in a home yet, and she prefers to stay in the comfort of her own home for as long as possible.
She’s not far from me, so I like to keep an eye on her. Even though she can handle living on her own, there’s simple responsibilities that she can’t manage by herself. Instead of paying someone to do it for her, I step in and help where I can. For instance, I mow her grass, take the trash to the dump, and weed her garden. She saves hundreds of dollars each month by me doing them myself. Doing these chores also gives me an excuse to visit her home often so I can see how she’s doing. It’s easy for me to mow the grass and take the trash off, but there’s one thing I can’t do on my own and that’s service her HVAC system. I contemplated learning how to service an HVAC system independently in order to save money, but it was too complicated. I wanted my mother to live a stress-free life, which didn’t include heat and air problems. I hire the local HVAC company to come to her home twice per year. During one visit, they service the air conditioner and during the next visit they service the furnace. They make sure the equipment is running efficiently, they clean any parts that need washed, and they replace the air filter. I know how to replace an air filter, but that’s not good enough if I want my mom to have the best air quality.