Different, but happy: ‘If we really can’t figure it out, I’ll kiss him’

Burgundian Brabander Carin (39) and stiff Fries Falke (40) have been married for fourteen years and are the parents of Tibbe (6) and Teun (3).

Carin: “I go left, Falke goes right. All the time. There is no subject on which we do not differ. We have two kinds of peanut butter in the cupboard. We argue about politics and the environment. We’re even fighting over the remote.

Love

What binds us is the love for each other and our children. It’s that simple. Sometimes it drives me crazy. I think it would be so much fun to cycle together, preferably in matching raincoats. An afternoon of shopping without him sighing every five minutes. Walking on the beach for a while instead of just lying down. To have a conversation without getting bogged down in yes-no-things discussions.”

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For the sake of their children, Carin would like to be more on the same page. “The children know exactly who they should be with. I’m easier than their father. I don’t need to empty a plate, you can have a bowl of chips at four o’clock and I calmly tell six stories before going to bed. Falke is more straightforward and really sits down next to the kids with the kitchen timer when they play on their iPad.

As a result, he regularly punishes me and we argue for hours about bed, play and screen times. Fortunately, sex always helps. If one of us is tired of arguing, the direct approach works best. Kissing the other in the middle of the discussion and literally shutting it up.”

This article was previously published in Kek Mama.

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