My mom and I were next-door neighbors for 14 years

For 14 years my mom and I lived next door to each other, a form of multigenerational living I hadn’t considered because we hadn’t shared a roof in nearly 20 years. In that time I married, became a parent, finished graduate school and changed careers, while Mom rebuilt her life after divorce, returned to work and retired, served on a nonprofit board, became an activist and became Grandma to 10.

My family bought my late grandparents’ house and moved next door, and my siblings teased me about trying to be the favorite. The move made sense: my husband was facing a difficult decade of severe respiratory illness and Mom was adjusting to life after divorce.

We shared a couple of acres of woods, I cared for both properties, and she was nearby for hospital trips, surgeries and sudden emergencies; during the first year of COVID we gardened, swam and walked together, and we dog-sat for one another. Last year a new health diagnosis prompted Mom to downsize.

multigenerational living, next-door neighbors, downsizing, caregiving, covid, divorce, retirement, grandchildren, family home, health diagnosis