Raising kids

In what I believe was the first series of Desperate Housewives we could see Lynette, struggling with motherhood. She looked exhausted whilst doing the groceries, with her twins in tow. She secretly yearned for the life she had before the kids, as a career woman. But,on meeting an acquaintance, she put a smile on her face and said 'motherhood is the best job in the world', or words to that effect.

Well, motherhood sometimes feels like a job. And then again, it doesn't. It takes energy but also gives energy. It's not something you do from nine to five but more of a 24/7 effort.

It's endlessly challenging and rewarding, at any rate. When my son is acting up, it's almost always because I am behaving badly. Children are a mirror in a sense. It's no easy task to keep oneself under control, to be a good example. To provide children with a sense of stability and to make them feel loved.

As my friend Martine always says: "raising children is the toughest thing on earth."
And I guess that's what Lynette meant to say...

In his shoes

Last week I had this weird experience. I was asked to translate for a civil law notary in the morning and in the afternoon. As travelling back and forth made no sense I asked whether it was alright if I spent the time in between the assignments at the notary's firm. This was fine. He even let me use his own desk and said 'then you can pretend to be a notary for a day'.

I tried. It was nice to be among beautiful things: a leather desk top, beautiful drawings on the wall, chic accessories and stationery wherever I looked. But at the end of the day life is all about people and not about things. The only moment in which I really enjoyed being in the notary's shoes was when the man himself entered the room at lunch time with a piece of cake he had fetched at home 'here you go, then you have something to eat.'

Guess there are days in which one can have one's cake and eat it.

Recommended

Sometimes I am amazed at all the wonderful information to be found on the Internet. We have the world at our fingertips, in the comfort of our own home. In that sense the world has changed dramatically over the last few decades.

A few recommendations as far as starting your home business is concerned:

http://www.homeinternet-business.com
http://www.homeinternet-business.com/blog/

Have a look for yourself.

Bye for now, I have taken a day off, my parents are coming to dinner and I want the house to be clean and the food to be good. These things can take up considerable time and it's wonderful not having to rush...