Downsizing in Australia - Mark O'Shea | Page 28

DOWNSIZING IN AUSTRALIA STORY TWO Bill and Janette A good friend of mine, Bruce, had elderly parents, Bill and Janette, who were in their 80s and still living in the family home where they had raised four kids. The kids were long gone, and they now had 13 grandchildren. They did not want to leave the home that they had worked so hard for and where they had gathered so many memories. As Bruce was the eldest of the four kids and, even more importantly, lived the closest to his mother and father, he was in charge of nearly everything from mowing the lawns, gardening and organising maintenance around the home to taking both parents to medical appointments. Bill and Janette hadn’t driven for some 10 years. 028