My son and his wife gave me a flat when I retired
Today, my son and daughter-in-law came round and handed me the keys, then walked me down to the solicitors office. Im so overwhelmed, I can barely speak, so I just whispered,
Why are you giving me such an expensive gift? I dont need it!
Its a little retirement bonus. You can let it out to tenants! my son replied with a grin.
At the time, I hadnt even registered with the pension office yet! Id just been made redundant and was about to settle into retirement. And here they were, sorting everything out without so much as a word to me. I tried to refuse, but they told me not to make a fuss.
My relationship with my daughter-in-law hasnt always been smooth: sometimes things are easy, and then suddenly, out of the blue, wed have a stormy row. Both of us were guilty of stirring up trouble from time to time. For years, we had to learn how to get along. We had to teach ourselves not to argue, not to pick fights. But for the last few years, thank goodness, weve been living together in peace.
When my sister-in-law heard about the gift, she rang me straight away and started congratulating me, then praised herself, saying, Well, I must have raised a good daughter if she had no problem with you getting such a present! Then she added that she personally would have turned it down, preferring it to go to her grandson instead.
I spent half the night tossing and turning, wondering whether I could manage on just my pension, as I really didnt need much to get by. In the morning, I called in my grandson and gently hinted, asking if hed like it if I set up the flat for him. Hell soon be sixteen, off to university, maybe with a girlfriend he couldnt exactly take her back to his parents, could he?
Gran, dont worry! I want to earn my own keep! he answered straight away.
Nobody wanted to take the flat. I offered it to my daughter-in-law, my grandson, and even to my son.
Then I remembered what happened to my older sister: her sister-in-law got rid of her house and ended up living in council accommodation. She clung to that little room like a lifeline.
Our late uncle Hes been gone for fifteen years now, but his heirs still cant get on, because they couldnt split his estate without endless bickering.
Once, I watched a programme about a couple whose son was given their house, but he turned them out and sold it, leaving his parents homeless.
I cried Im not even sure why. Perhaps out of gratitude, or maybe pride in my children. After I visited the pension office, I learned my state pension was two thousand pounds a month. Then my son let the flat, and it brought in three thousand pounds a month in rent. Thats when I truly appreciated the gift from my children: it really was fit for royalty!
