These walls tell of bidets, nappies, nipples and lodgers, but not necessarily in that order.
(an excerpt)
…
Within a year of my brother being born, we’d moved into what would turn out to be Mum’s forever home.
The three-bedroom flat had become too small for this growing family, and we’d managed to double the value of the property with all our renovating and decorating, raising it from £22,000 to £44,000.
This increase allowed us to move to the lower floor of a gorgeous Victorian terraced house, with a private garden to the rear, in a very desirable part of Edinburgh and just a short walk from the school where my Mum and stepdad worked. The downside? It was, indeed, much bigger than the flat but it only had two bedrooms.
Not to worry, Mum had a plan. She’d move the bathroom, currently at the back of the house (with a garden view), to the box room in the middle of the house. A bathroom didn’t need a window, right? But this would make for a lovely big bedroom, which would lead out into the garden through French doors. Perfect.
My stepdad adored Mum and trusted her to make the decisions about interior alterations; however unconventional they might seem to him at the time. He was confident she’d make a lovely, functional home for us all.
She got a loan and spared no expense on this new bathroom, adding underfloor heating and a bidet, as well as the other necessary sanitaryware. She was so proud of the result, she cleaned it every day!
My Mum was a big fan of a bidet. Extremely useful when you’ve just had a baby and all your bits are still sore.
What had once been used as a second kitchen for a tenant in the flat had since been transformed into a nappy changing room when my brother came along and my Mum and stepdad had moved into that bedroom. There was already a sink in there, so she added a baby changing table, shelves for storage and a porcelain bidet. She’d got used to having one around.