Respite Now
FREE CALL: 1300 791 562      
EMAIL: info@respitenow.com.au
  • HOME
    • RITCHLY Values
    • Home Care >
      • Lawn mowing & garden maintenance
      • Medication Delivery & Management
    • For Case Managers
  • Subsidies
    • Packages available to help you
    • Consumer Directed Care
    • Government Contacts
  • ClientCarerMatchmaker™
  • COMMUNITY
    • News & Aged Care Current Affairs
    • 2nd HAND MOBILITY EQUIPMENT
    • Senior Scam Alerts
    • Take this month's poll
    • Dementia
  • OUR FRIENDS
  • JOBS
  • Blog
  • CONTACT US
    • Privacy Statement
    • Please contact me ASAP

MY DAD'S, DAD'S HOUSE - 'ahh the good ol' days' 

7/11/2014

17 Comments

 
WELCOME TO OUR FIRST BLOG POST.APOLOGIES FOR THE LENGTH & EXCESSIVE REMINISCING.
 
Other members from the Respite Now team will be blogging from time to time and I will ensure they keep their blog posts short and topical. It will only be me who is allowed to self-indulgently waffle on at length. 
We hope you enjoy reading our blog posts and would love to hear from you.  

                                      Click the blue 'Comment' link below of just CLICK HERE.
________________________________________________________________________________________

A FAMILIAR HOUSE (at the bottom of the hill)
I was in my favourite football team's neighborhood two years back (Go the Bombers) and had the opportunity to walk through the house my father grew up in and which my grandfather built in about 1933. Unfortunately he died when my dad was a teenager so I never got to meet him. It had obviously been built well and since then well maintained; here 77 years later it still looked in its original splendour. It was a lovely old house and as a young kid I remember visiting grandma regularly. My brother Neale and I would play in the backyard and run around the local parks kicking the footy. Grandma sold and moved to a smaller unit probably around the time my sister Siobhan was born, so in those days it was just me and my big brother. 

A stunning coincidence is the current owner (only the 3rd) used to visit the house as a school friend of my dad's sister, auntie Lucia and it was a thrill for both of us to meet. It was amazing how from the outside, everything was in its original condition and looked exactly the same as I remember it when I last saw it about 30 or so years ago. Even the soft, choir-like chime of the old door-bell.

ABOVE: (from left) The original door bell that still works, Front verandah and Driveway leading to the single-car garage (the only rickety bit of the house that I saw)


INSIDE (so what's it look like now?)
Grandma lived on her own once dad and his brothers and sisters married and as she kept the house in such a clean and tidy state it wasn't hard to see that it was still in the same pristine condition. Everything inside the house looked so familiar with all the fittings and finishes still original; although it now had a busy family, lived-in look. Most owners of houses of its vintage would be proudly showing off the latest upgrade or glossy appliance and it would have had several refurbishments or renovations but she was proud to show me through the house that she was was happily living in and proud of. It wasn't from lack of money that the house still stood as it was now. It obviously had plenty of time and money spent on maintaining this modest, grand old house over the years. My memories were not based on some romantic notion of the past via rose couloured glasses; no, this was almost eerie - but in a good way.  Walking through the house felt like I was back in time -  wishing dad was with me to see it all again too. I mean everything was the same but it didn't look old and tatty, far from it. It looked refined and elegant much like the grand old lady that used to live there who'd make us boys milk and cookies on that same old bench tops after a day of football knocks and tumbles in the back yard.

ABOVE: (from left) The original cupboards, bench top & tap ware, The fireplace and Looking down hallway to the front door.


DAD (love & memories)
I emailed photos of my visit to dad and wished I was with him when he opened the attachments to see his face. I don't know about you, but I sure remember when I would have had to wait until the roll of film was finished, go and pay to get it developed and printed and then I probably would have driven over or waited until the next get together and shown him the photos. I would have then surely seen his face and been with him to share such vivid memories of our past.

Dad, (Peter Millard) died in the November of the same year from an aggressive form of cancer on the brain. He was just 77.  Days before his diagnosis, dad was lively, fit and regularly walked long distances with his sister Lucia. In fact it was on one of these walks that he noticed a bit of dizziness that alerted him to seeking a medical opinion. It was only 8 weeks from diagnosis to his passing. My dads brothers and sisters are still alive and I still get to see them and enjoy their company from time to time. I thank God for the family from the little house in Essendon (Go the Bombers).

Dad enjoyed music, the sanctity of the church, photography, his children and grand kids and was a true gentleman. I hope I have retained enough of his gentlemanly qualities to share with my family, friends and customers for many years to come. I think of him and miss him just about every day.

ABOVE: (from left) Dad (age 18) at the front of the house, Dad at Lara in 1986 and Dad, My brother Neale and my auntie Lucia 2008



Thanks for the love and the memories dad.
Apart from my family names, all other names are fictitious for privacy reasons
17 Comments
TREVOR DUNN
10/11/2014 03:42:53 am

What lovely thoughts you have reminded me of how you should try and remember my parents- the good times!

Reply
Gregory Millard link
10/11/2014 02:07:58 pm

Thanks Trevor, I'm glad it has stimulated some happy memories. Thanks for visiting our website and reading the blog post. We hope to maintain a mix of relevant and perhaps some not so relevant stories to share on the site.

Reply
Maria Marshall
10/11/2014 11:16:59 am

I too lost parents very suddenly. Thanks for sharing your recollections of your Dad.

Reply
Gregory Millard link
10/11/2014 02:15:34 pm

My pleasure Maria. I wanted to share something about ourselves without being too business orientated. Sorry for your losses. It's a hollow world we live without parents that's for sure. Thanks for your lovely comments.

Reply
Marcus Tomlinson
10/11/2014 07:08:15 pm

Lovely words Greg, thank you for sharing these stories.

Reply
Greg Millard
13/11/2014 02:42:41 pm

Thank you Marcus

Reply
Sharron Wells
13/11/2014 07:45:52 am

Great tale. My Dad grew up in Essendon too and actually captained a basketball team to great success, many years ago though. Do you operate in the Pascoe Vale? Sharron.

Reply
Greg Millard
13/11/2014 02:45:21 pm

Thanks Sharron. It sure is a sporty suburb. Yes we do service Pascoe Vale. Currently our coverage is Eastern and Norther suburbs. If you would like to drop us a line on the 'contact' page of the website we'll contact you for a chat.

Reply
Cris link
17/11/2014 10:39:03 am

Hi Greg, Nice memories for you. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Greg
24/11/2014 06:21:53 am

Thanks Chris. We look forward to working with you.

Reply
Paul Ellis link
22/11/2014 03:20:24 am

Re: RESPITE NOW

To whomever may need some personal space and peace of mind.

I can say that those you meet will not jump to conclusions or judge.

There’s of a meticulous professionalism within an openness and depth of experience.

I’ve seen and analyzed a great deal of related development over many years. I believe the world will open to them and catch you gently along the way should you choose to allow them into your lives.

With my very best wishes



Paul Ellis.

Reply
Greg
24/11/2014 06:20:30 am

Hi Paul. If this was Q&A, Tony would say, "I'll take that as a comment". Thanks for the kind and poetic words. Very inspiring.

Reply
Christine Dyer
17/1/2015 02:35:12 pm

I accidently came across your blog (website) when searching for home care support for my father in Essendon, I am hoping you cover our area? My husband (Allan) has emailed via the info@respitenow.com.au email address and I will also send a contact/enquiry from the contact form page too. I hope we can find out more from you. Thanks so much for the story, it bought up some lovely feelings and memories for me as I grew up in the area nearby to Essendon. Chris

Reply
Rebecca Flanagan
8/8/2015 06:18:11 am

It was lovely to see you and other family members in June. Thank you for the beautiful Windy Hill/ C St update. This blog reads very well.

Reply
Greg Millard
11/8/2015 03:38:02 pm

Likewise Rebecca, wow everyone's grown up and kids galore. Great to see you all. Thanks for posting

Reply
Jane Millard link
14/8/2015 07:07:09 am

Hi Rebecca, sorry I was unable to attend Terry's funeral. He was such an impressive feature of the family I joined and will be so missed; even if the occasions we came together were that, occasional. Greg said the day was a great tribute to him. I was thinking that if you, or you and Pauline and any of the kids would like to share some thoughts about your Dad, the changes you noticed over the years or the love & support you Mum provided over the years since his health failed that'd be great. If this sounds like something you'd like to do and you want to discuss it, just re-post or email me at info@respitenow.com.au or call on 0423 406 487. Love & warm wishes, Jane

Reply
Rebecca Flanagan
14/8/2015 07:52:25 am

Hi Jane, I will reply later but it is lovely to hear from you. Thank you for asking me about Terry's decline, it is something that I would like to consider and document. Love to you and your family, Rebecca.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Hi, I'm Greg Millard and part of my role at Respite Now is to keep the communication open and flowing. So a blog might be a way I can share some of what's going on behind the scenes and it allows customers and readers to share comments too.

    Archives

    May 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by
Photos used under Creative Commons from jqpubliq, Tony Webster, spbpda
✕