My parents-in-law began the process of selling their family home of 20 years several summers ago. At the time I knew they were ready for the downsize; the house was tired, things were falling apart, furniture needed replacing and the DIY job list for my father-in-law was getting longer and longer.

Working in the property industry and telling people over and over again to 'depersonalise the process' my husband and I began to guide his parents through the minefield of not only selling their home but also buying a new property. We approached it as we do with most things, quite matter of fact, to the point and thinking financially about the benefits for them – practicality all the way.

As the house was put on the market and offers made then withdrawn, the whole process began to take its toll on my mother-in-law. Each time there was another set back she became disheartened, worried, stressed and emotional. We encouraged her to keep going, step back and assess the situation in a matter-of-fact way. Eventually the house was sold and the removal men booked.

With a growing family of my own, It’s only now I realise what my mother-in-law was actually selling: a family home that held so many precious memories. Their move to the house had been a new venture for the whole family. All the first-day-of-school photographs were taken on its doorstep. Both sons left for University from here, and when they set out to buy their own homes with their now wives, all the advice was given around that kitchen table. There were 20 happy Christmas mornings to treasure, two cherished grandsons making their first trip to 'Gran’s house', not to mention the numerous gerbils, hamsters and family pets resting in peace in the garden.

So as the removal men arrived on that morning in August and I watched the house empty, I should have realised that the saying 'it’s only bricks and mortar” really isn’t true'. Each room held a special memory, a story of this family's history.

Now, of course, memories are being made in the new house. In fact only last week, as the grandchildren were tearing around the garden which is actually bigger than the old one, my mother-in-law commented 'they’d never have done that at Turnpole Close'. The  'spare rooms' are now the grandchildren’s bedrooms and the dining room home to a new, larger table to accommodate the growing family. The new house is now home. 

NA, Stamford

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