I didn’t have a conventional upbringing. In fact, my upbringing warranted a good 5 minutes of explanation every time I met someone new.
I grew up on an estate. Not a regular estate (that I happily live on now in my dinky, perfect house) but a 100-acre estate owned by my grandad, a multi-millionaire. Each direct child had their own house on the land, so I grew up with one brother and 2 cousins. All boys!
I’m not exaggerating when I say we lived the slimmed down version of Richie Rich’s lifestyle. On the grounds we had access to a bowling alley, badminton hall, a skate park at one point, motorbikes, cars, quad bikes, 2 swimming pools (indoor and outdoor) trampolines… It was a child’s dream land.
If we needed something built, the grass cut, lunch cooked for a party, drinks served at an event then there was someone employed on the grounds to do it. Cringeworthily, we even had a lovely old lady called Dottie and her husband John cook and serve our Christmas Day lunch one year.
It’s difficult to explain the deep rooted issues with this type of upbringing without sounding ungrateful. My Grandad made a hell of a lot of money, and like most parents, wanted his children and their children to want for nothing. The trouble with this approach is that wanting for nothing leaves you ill-prepared for the outside world.
I may write more on this.