Family Togetherness

I can't remember how far back the idea came to me; it probably began  twenty-odd years ago at a gathering of all  my six grown kids and their mates when we drove from our various home provinces to a designated meeting spot in Alberta.

I related my dream to buy a big property somewhere where each of us would build a house.
Our own family compound. After a couple glasses of wine, everyone thought the idea had merit.

During the years some scattered to the west and some of us ended up in Kitchener, Ontario, but variations of the dream stayed alive with a few of us. We agreed on this--we love to be together but we also crave time alone, with doors shut.

As a test, we have been meeting at my place for years on Saturday night for dinner and although it isn't mandatory some or all show up and we have a good time.

In a crisis we are one solid front and do whatever is required.

We began searching for triplexes, huge old turn-of the-century behemoths and derelict farms.I can't recall why we thought the last two were a good idea.

One day, the light bulb turned on really, really bright in the head of son #3, who  owns a smallish seventy-year old house that he has been tinkering with since he bought it. Relax, he's a professional carpenter.
There is a self-contained basement apartment, a self-contained main floor and a top floor slowly being turned into  a two-room plus bathroom and kitchen area

Son #2 has asked me many times to take over the main floor and all of a sudden it seemed a good idea.

His wife is happily  light years away from being domestic and her life is complete if she has space to do her fabulous Thai cooking and  brush her teeth, and she says the upper floor is fine with her.

Son #1 has always been a hermit of sorts and he would be happy with the basement one-bedroom plus common room with kitchen area and bathroom. He  works in  #3's carpentry business and lives with them five days a week, then commutes on week ends to his recently-sold house a two-hour drive away.

So that leaves us with one son and his wife on the top floor, me on the main floor, another son in the lower level and there is a  grandson currently living with me who will always be welcome if he chooses to come along for the fun.

Now that we have this plan pretty well set, there are some hurdles such as getting city planning approval for the necessary renovation, selling my house and all of us remaining healthy.

In the meantime I thrive on planning, so let the fun begin.