I bought something big for the family that you’re quite excited about.
This is unlike the real estate moves of the past year that were big but responsible. This purchase is definitionally a “pandemic purchase:” random, luxorious, close-to-home.
Yes, I purchased a barrel sauna.
Hear me out. We’ve been talking seriously about getting a hot tub for months. Those are popular, expected and appealing. They even contribute home resale value. However, they’re totally energy inefficient and your Mom sometimes has a reaction to the chemicals. I did a little research (mere hours over mere days) and found barrel saunas are less expensive and far more energy efficient. They have well known health benefits. Saunas are as common as cars in Finland, and the life expectancy there is three years more than in the U.S. It all makes so much sense, right?
The above paragraph again points to overly enthusiastic, slightly irrational pandemic purchase behavior.
Well, I made the purchase and built the thing, so there’s no going back now.
The “Almost Heaven Huntington Sauna” arrived on a flat bed from West Virginia a couple weeks ago. I was shocked and impressed to see a dualie Dodge Ram truck arrive in front ofthe house well ahead of schedule having crossed over every mountain pass in America in the dead of winter. I helped unload the pre-fab materials and took the next sunny weekend to construct the sauna. It came together like a large Lego project, which is to say it took me two hours longer than expected, and the right side of the barrel came apart on me three times as I neared completion.
The sauna seats six (I’d say four adults with room for the Holy Spirit) and aesthetically looks awesome. Your Mom and I added a green metal roof for weather and flair. The electrician comes over tomorrow and then we should be able to fire it up!
You’ve been a big help putting the sauna together, offering to hammer anything in sight. The concept of the sauna has been a little confusing to you along the way though.
“It warms you up like a hot tub,” I explain.
“But can I swim in it?” you reply.
“No, there’s no water,” I say.
“Then why do I have to wear a bathing suit?”
Good question.
Once you get into the functioning sauna, it will all click and I trust we’ll get daily use out of it. You’re a cold-blooded animal and love to warm up by any blanket, heater or sun source available to you.
We’re almost nearing the end of the pandemic. What a perfect time to take off the mask, put on your bathing suit and warm up. Let’s get started before life returns back to normal and I have to reconcile why I have a big, immovable barrel in the backyard.
Love, Dad