At my dad’s funeral my sister spoke about growing up and how short we were of money. It was a shock to me. When I thought about our childhood it was about caravan holidays, a great big yard, cows, Dad bringing home bags of fresh fruit from the Adelaide Central Market, the beach, bikes, kid fights and relatives. A time full of activity and being outside, the lack of money in my pocket was another matter completely.
There was one time when I did believe our family was poor but I don’t know what made me think that. Apart from the house we lived in, my parents owned a block of flats and shops, about four of each, at Henley Beach. Once when a shop was empty for a while Mum set it up as a “Drapers” selling ladies’ clothes, baby wear etc. She had an account at a warehouse and when Dad was going to reward me for doing well in a music exam he took me to the warehouse to pick out a leather satchel.
There was quite a range including single compartment, double compartment and even triple compartment in blue, black and brown. Dad asked me to pick out the one I wanted and I picked out the ugliest, brown, single compartment one I could see. He tried to get me to choose something else but I insisted and when he asked if I was sure I told him I was. I didn’t tell him I thought it was so ugly it HAD to be the cheapest one and I thought that’s what we should get. I’m sure we both left there feeling disappointed but overwhelmingly my memories are of rich experiences.
You didn’t know that about Nana did you?
Musings of a Retiring Person 