Carrots and Amanda

 Carrots and Amanda have been our neighbours down the street for over ten years. We are number 20 and they are number 19. You would think logically that their house would be opposite ours but it isn't. Oddly our side of the street starts with a house numbered 8 (and lived in by a Chinese family) so Carrots and Amanda live four houses down from us.

We first met them when we were out walking our respective tribes of preschoolers and toddlers. Then one day Carrots and his son Liam were out on the front lawn of his house and we bumped into them both on the way back from a dog walk. We introduced ourselves and realised that our sons were the same age and our daughters were too.

Pretty soon we saw them everywhere we were: dance lessons, kindergarten, at the pool, at Auskick.  Amanda and I were on committees together and Carrots, a press photorapher, was snapping our kids at various arts, culture and other events.

They are like aunts and uncles to our kids, brothers and sisters to us. Need to get a kid somewhere. Need to leave a kid with someone. They're your crew.