Debbie Caldwell, her daughter Emma holding grand-daughter Mikayla, Debbie’s mum Dianne, Debbie’s son Matthew and son Simon’s wife Kate with their daughter Matilda-Rose.By Emma Sun
IF TWO’S company and three’s a crowd, then four generations of the same family living in the one housing estate is a constant big party.
Five families call Cardinia Lakes in Pakenham home, and little Matilda-Rose Caldwell is the fourth generation and most recent addition to the family line.
Her parents, Simon and Kate, uncle Matthew, grandmother Debbie and great-grandparents Dianne and Neville Flintoff all happily live a few doors or streets down from each other. Debbie said all family members enjoyed the company of one another and there was never a dull moment with everyone around.
“It’s fantastic and we love it – we have lot of family get togethers and we see each other at least once a week,” she said.
“Just last Sunday morning, we had an impromptu breakfast in town. We certainly wouldn’t have done it if we lived so far away.”
She said there were many benefits of living so close together, such as dropping by to have a coffee, going for walks together or having a nice family dinner, which was a change from when they lived in different suburbs.
“I was in Ferntree Gully, mum was in Berwick and at one stage Simon and Kate were in South Gippsland so it was only get togethers for the important days like Christmas and Easter,” Debbie said.
“We certainly keep in touch, but nothing like this. Sometimes, I get a knock on the door, and it’s Kate with the baby and the dogs in tow.”
Debbie and her parents Dianne and Neville benefit because they get to see their grandchildren and great-grandchildren many times a week.
“As Neville and I have grown older, being near to family is more important than ever. We all live in different parts of the Cardinia Lakes community, but we’re never more than a few minutes away from each other,” Dianne said.
While being in close proximity to one another may cause problems for some families, Debbie said they never encountered any sticky situations.
She said the reason they always got along so well was because they maintained a good balance and had mutual respect for each other.
“There’s never a time when we don’t enjoy it; we love Pakenham and I absolutely enjoy having my family close by and having that support network,” she said.
“We’ve never had any skeletons in the cupboard, so to speak, so we get along really well and enjoy each other’s company.
“We still have mutual respect for one another, and we’re not always on each other’s doorsteps. We know the importance of private time and having one’s own family life.”
Living in the same estate has been so successful that Debbie’s daughter Emma, her husband Memhet Huseyin and their daughter Mikayla are also looking to move in.
In the meantime, the next big agenda marked on everyone’s calendars will be Christmas, and plans are already in action to make it a big celebration for the whole extended family.
“We’re having Christmas eve dinner at mum’s and then breakfast the next morning at my house in our pyjamas, and then lunch again at mum’s,” Debbie said.
