I’ve been an older brother as long as I can remember.
And when you only have one sibling, that role becomes a part of your identity.
At least that was the case for me. So when I learned that my sister was divorcing and her husband was leaving the central air conditioning of their home for good, I was heartbroken. That marriage had been on the rocks for a long time. But to their credit, they really tried to make it since they had kids. But it got ugly and that was that. My sister suddenly had a big house with the mortgage that was all on her. She was raising the two kids alone inside that house and struggling just to pay the air conditioning bill. Her soon to be ex is making things very tough for her financially so I had to step in. Of course, I’ve helped her out with financial gifts. I’m lucky to spend my days inside the commercial HVAC of an office doing a job that pays me well. Still, my sister is an independent person who needed a more sustainable plan. That’s when I took some time off and helped her turn her basement into a nice apartment. After we added heating and cooling with help from the HVAC company, she was all set to rent to a grad student studying at the college in my sister’s city. The ductless heat pump in that new apartment really amazed me with the level of quality heating and air. My sister now has added revenue that helps her make her mortgage payments while the divorce agreement gets worked out in court.