This is story #44 in the series “Where Exactly is Home?”. The author recommends you read them in order.
Introduction:
“Where Exactly is Home?” follows the story of my parents, my two younger brothers and me, Susan, who emigrated from war-battered Britain, in the mid-late 1950’s, to Southern Rhodesia, Africa.
The effects of this move on our family were huge, as we struggled to adapt to such a different way of life. Only after further upheaval, and more long-distance travelling, did our family eventually settle in the city of Salisbury, Rhodesia.
However, we did not know then that we would not remain there for the rest of our lives, either.
When the family first went to Africa, I, Susan, was 9 years old. My two brothers, John and Peter, were almost 7 and 4, respectively.
Nowadays, as seniors, John and Peter live in England. I live in Canada. Throughout our lives, we have both benefitted from, and suffered because of, our somewhat unusual childhood.
I, for one, still sometimes ask myself which country represents home to me.
This is a series of stories under the title “Where Exactly is Home?” – I recommend you read them in order, starting with story #1.
44. A Room With A View In A House Of Our Own
The last thing I heard before I passed out was my mother yelling to my father in a panicked voice, “Sid! Sid! She means it! She really means it! Come and help! Quick!”
It was 3am, and my parents had set the alarm clock for this early hour because our family was intent on watching an eclipse of the moon, or some such happening which was to take place that night. My mother and father, my brother Peter and I had gone to bed the night before, as usual. We knew that we would be getting up a few hours later to see this remarkable lunar event. We had had a perfectly normal day, although, by the evening, for some reason which I didn’t understand, I had developed back ache.
I was twenty-three years old and living at home with my parents and my brother Peter. We were now in a lovely bungalow in Borrowdale, one of the nicer suburbs on the outskirts of Salisbury, Rhodesia.
How had my parents been able to afford the purchase of a house? I had been living in France when they first wrote to say that they were buying a place. Really?! They sent me a couple of photos, and I was bowled over by this lovely property. How could they afford it, I wondered? I learned later that the house was further away from the centre of Salisbury, so less expensive, but this was not the main factor. It was more because all three of us children were no longer living at home (albeit two of us, only temporarily).
