The house you remember may have been held together by work you were too young to notice.

Children experience a household as weather rather than as work. Meals appeared, bills were handled, arguments happened after bedtime, and what stays with you is the atmosphere rather than the machinery under it. Learning the rest later can be uncomfortable, since it shows how much effort went into keeping the effort out of sight. It also reframes people you may have judged using the information available to you at eight years old.

If you can, ask an older relative what that period was actually like for them. Listen for the practical details, which is usually where the truth of it sits.