My husband is a school administrator, and their favorite saying is: Do you want it, or do you need it? Every time I wanted something for the house, he would ask me that question, and I hated it.
When the pandemic started, and the schools closed, I told him I thought we should have a whole-home air purifications system.
Since the illness was airborne, we could stop the virus from getting into the air before we could breathe it in. He told me that an air purification system didn’t work that way, but was open to the discussion. I knew he wanted me to justify my reasoning for needing an air purification system, but I would not jump through the hoops he makes school employees jump through. I remember when the principal wanted to get some new cookbooks for the home economics classes. He made her fill out forms in triplicate, and give him a full page report on the necessity and give him the prices and SKUs of the books she wanted to buy. When he left for work, I called the HVAC company. I told them what I wanted and asked to have an HVAC technician come to the house. I needed the HVAC tech to be there right after our dinner was complete, so my husband would have eaten first. This always puts him in a better mood. I also asked if he could wear a white suit that wouldn’t allow him to spread the virus. He could get the information about a whole home air purification system from the HVAC technician, and not from me.