Our Nana used to live in Victor Harbor but when I was about 12 she moved to the city to be closer to her youngest daughter and that bit closer to my mum, her oldest daughter.
She moved into an apartment that had a pool. It was heaven for my sisters and I. During the summer holidays we’d stay on after Christmas for a week or so and it was a real holiday for us.
Nana would buy soft drink and keep it stocked up. This was a special treat as it was something that mum rarely allowed.
Her unit was only a 2 bedroom and she’d give up her room with the twin beds so 2 of us could sleep in there and the other 1 in the other little spare room. This allowed her to stay up that bit later I guess and smoke some more Benson and Hedges cigarettes and sip away at a bit more Stout.
I’m pretty sure Nana enjoyed having us stay. We certainly enjoyed staying there. And at that time it was very social around the pool. There were other kids living or staying so they’d invariably be hanging around or come out if we went to the pool. While we were younger Nana would come out and supervise us – she never joined us in the pool though.
We continued visiting her during the holidays and then when I finished high school I moved in with her. It wasn’t quite the same thing and those summer holidays then became a thing of the past for me as I joined the workforce and after a couple of years moved into a share house.
Only a few years after that Nana got taken to hospital and then put into a nursing home where she only lasted 3 weeks. She’d had enough and gave up on life.
Mum and her sister inherited the unit and eventually mum and dad bought out her sister’s half. I moved back in just before I went overseas and then again after I came back a couple of years later. It was perfect. Cheap rent and close to everything.
My sister now lives there after buying it from mum and dad so it’s still in our family after all these years. The pool is now fenced and rarely gets used.
