Sometimes, when I’m tired of knitting or organising literally all of my family’s major events from my chair (they’re a bit useless, but it just makes me love them more) I like to browse the local paper. I’ve only been retired for five years, but it seems like the property market has just become a confusing mass of numbers and jargon…or maybe it was like that much longer. Harold and I bought our home in 1961 and never moved until recently, so perhaps I’ve been out of the loop. I keep looking at the houses, however, even though I’m not looking to buy. Did you know that there are people in Melbourne who do property advocacy? What a sign of the times! So many properties, so many places, so much choice…you have to hire someone to tread all those miles and do the sifting for you.

I suppose doing that job would be like what I do, looking through the newspaper and noting down all the trends, except they’re actually doing the footwork as well. Maybe I’d be good at being a property advocate! You never know. I’ve done a few jobs in my time, even worked as a secretary in a real estate agent for eleven years. Women couldn’t be actual estate agents back in that day, so that was about as far as my career could get there. Still, it helped me become an expert in the field, all that paperwork filled with so many lovely terms and jargon. Property advocacy isn’t quite like estate agency, but they both deal with looking around houses and helping people to purchase. I could make that jump. Really, I could!

Oh, but it’s the legwork nowadays, isn’t it? I can’t walk quite like I used to, that’s the thing. If I could, maybe I’d fill my retirement pounding the pavements of Melbourne, buyers advocacy on the brain. If they’d hire an old lady like me, that is. I DO know all the jargon…

-Ethel