“Why are those sports games scheduled at such unchristian times?”

Image: Nine IJf

Jannine Berkelaar is editor-in-chief of Kek Mama. She and her husband Erik have daughter Elin (10) and son Mats (7).

Saturday morning and the alarm goes off even earlier than on a school day. It is pitch dark and cold outside. I gently wake the children and with sleepy faces they heave into their competition uniforms. Time for hockey and football.

Why are those matches scheduled at such unchristian times and do you often have to drive forty minutes at an away game? How can we be in the parking lot with our good behavior at 7:15 a.m. to see a team of eight-year-olds running on a field? And how come I suddenly like that?

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Line motherhood

A few years ago I would have thought I was crazy and said that the children can also play chess instead of that team sport. Or bowling or something, it probably doesn’t start that early. But now I have found my niche in line motherhood. I exchange my luxurious oat cappu on Saturday morning for a black cup of coffee from the sports canteen. I selected my winter jacket for cold and rain resistance. And I even do a bar shift at the club with a smile.

“I have now found my niche in line motherhood”

Every weekend I see all those different parents: from line screamers to braggarts and from snack mothers to know-it-alls. I find them interesting, hilarious and sometimes bloody irritating. Above all, it gives me inspiration for the working week. Even if there is a loss on the field, for me it is a win-win.

This article appears in Kek Mama 11-2022.

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