What are your thoughts on the family home?

The house has been in our lives for so long - Margaret was only five months old when we moved there. She’s always loved wandering these streets that she knew as a child, unlike some of my other children who have different feelings about the place.

Take Diane, for instance. She used to say ‘I won’t be happy until this house is raised to the ground.’ But Margaret loves it because she’s got more happy thoughts about it. It was good that Margaret had that night with her three brothers recently. They all have different thoughts about the house, but Margaret heard all three points of view. That’s what happens with family homes - everyone carries different memories.

The place needs work, mind you. The electrics need doing and there’s probably a lot of illegal stuff rigged up outside. It’s like Zachary said about Kate and Stan’s place - they wanted to get solar panels but couldn’t because the house was too old. They’d need to spend $5,000 just to get started. Margaret knows all this, but she’s got plans. She understands what needs to be done.

Margaret’s turned out to be a wonderful power of attorney. She’s getting more like me as she gets older - she can do the first bit, as I say. It’s funny to think that little baby I brought to the house all those years ago is now looking after both me and the place. She sits down at dinner time, reads the paper, has a beer - she’s got it all set up now. She’s kept coming back her whole life, so it makes sense she’d want to live here again.

Some people, when they grow up, think they want to go back to where they grew up, but then they go back and don’t like it. Not Margaret - she’s always liked it here. She spent her whole life here from five months old. She doesn’t remember the bad times, which is lucky, and she doesn’t remember her father. That’s worked out well for her, and for our relationship too. We’re more like friends than mother and daughter now.