‘I am fascinated by the cliché ‘you get so much in return”

Mariëtte Middelbeek is a journalist and author, and a columnist for Kek Mama. She and her husband Erik have two children: son Casper and daughter Nora.

Ever since I’ve had children, I’ve been fascinated by the cliché ‘you get so much in return’. This barter already starts at the birth, where as change for the baby you are pleased with things such as stitches, clots and a whole piece of extra belly.

Then come the gifts of sleep deprivation, baby spit, and the stress of a crying baby you so desperately want to comfort with no idea what’s going on. But of course also that same cute baby who can just turn the night upside down to come up with such a dazzling smile in the morning that you – here’s the other cliché – forget those waking hours in no time (until four o’clock in the morning). afternoon and you almost fall asleep over your Cup-a-soup). And after infancy, gifts such as toddlerhood and the no phase follow.

Also read – These hilarious illustrations sum up parenting perfectly >

Gifts

In any case, the gift basket after having a child is endless and the variety of what you get in return is huge, although I can’t help feeling that whoever says the cliché is referring to all those highlights and less to the unexpected side effects.

“My impression is that those who say the cliché are referring to the highlights and less to the unexpected side issues”

It seemed to me that now that we have outgrown the baby and toddler phase here, the cliché would also cease to exist. No more spit up clothes (at least not on a daily basis), but nights in which people just sleep and when crying it is so handy that the child in question can tell what is going on. But as it goes with parenting clichés: it turns out to be very much alive, I suspect well past the eighteenth birthdays.

parenting cliché

For example, I recently carried Casper, now 25 kilos, up the stairs after he had fallen asleep in the car that evening. “Jeez”, I sighed lovingly while his head was resting on my shoulder and I reached the top, panting. “You’re getting heavy, honey.”

And even though he was half asleep and I didn’t even think he heard me, he opened his mouth and said, I’m afraid a hundred percent, “Yes, Mom. You too.” What I say: you get so much in return.

This article appears in Kek Mama 10-2022.

Receive Kek Mama every month with a discount and shipped for free to your doorstep! Subscribe now and pay only € 4.19 per edition.