Moving House Again: but not for the same reason.

Moving house is never easy, especially when you are just a kid trying to make sense of everything around you. I have moved quite a few times because of my dad’s job in the military. But this time, the move was different. It wasn’t about a new posting or a new base. It was because my mum found out about my dad’s affair. This change shook our family in ways I didn’t fully understand back then, but it left a mark on me that I still remember clearly.

The Confusing Conversation I Didn’t Understand

Before we moved, I had told my mum something that didn’t make much sense to me at the time. I mentioned seeing a lady sharing a sofa bed with my dad when we visited his family. I thought it was just something normal, but my mum’s reaction was very different. She asked me questions that I couldn’t answer properly because I didn’t understand what she was getting at. It was the first time I sensed something was wrong, but I didn’t know what.

This moment was the start of a big change in our lives. My mum’s discovery of my dad’s affair wasn’t just about adults arguing or being upset. It meant our family was going to be different, and that meant moving out of the military quarters where we had lived for years.

Moving Into a New Home Near the City Centre

We left the military quarters behind and moved into a council block of maisonettes close to the city centre. The new place was very different from what I was used to. The military quarters were quiet and orderly, but the council block was noisy and busy. One of the first things I noticed was the railway line right across the road.

At first, my family worried about the noise from the trains. They thought it would wake us up at night and make it hard to sleep. But surprisingly, we got used to it quickly. The sound of the trains became part of our daily life, like a background hum that we barely noticed after a while.

The First Christmas in Our New Home

That Christmas was the first one I really remember clearly. It was different from all the others. The atmosphere at home had changed. There was less laughter and more quiet moments. My mum, my siblings, and I spent Christmas together, but the presents were not like before.

Most of the gifts came from “The Social,” a place I didn’t understand at the time. Later, I learned it was because my mum couldn’t afford to buy many presents. The separation from my dad had affected our finances, and things were tight. Even though the presents were simple, the day still felt special because we were together.

Later on, my dad re-entered my life, but things were different than before. I'll share more about this in future posts.