‘Suddenly the whole bottle of lemonade was empty’

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Every month a mother tells about the moment in motherhood when things went horribly wrong.

Chantal (38), married to Mark (35), father of Pim (10), Wout (7) and Noa (4):

“Our son Wout, who was six at the time, had politely asked his father if he could pour himself a glass. My husband hadn’t checked that further, he just thought: fine. Own initiatives like this are always welcomed within our male household. Especially by mom.

Although we should have known that something could go wrong. Because while the youngest of four is only too happy to bring this to a successful conclusion, our middle one is a real absent-minded dreamer. The oldest, in turn, is quite easy. He just waits for someone to be in the kitchen to do it for him.

Also read: 8x the best non-alcoholic cocktails >

Treat

I myself had been in my father’s apartment that afternoon to sort things out. When I got home, I smelled a sickly sweet smell that I didn’t immediately recognize. In the kitchen I found an almost empty bottle of strawberry lemonade, which, to my knowledge, was still full in the morning. Someone messed up maybe? But no, nobody knew about that. Until Wout suddenly jumped up and shouted that he wasn’t feeling well. And then, without finishing his sentence, threw projectile-spitting half a liter of red liquid over the room and kitchen floor.

What turned out? He had rewarded himself with two cups of pure lemonade. He had ‘a bit forgotten’ that water also had to be added and he was green with misery. Fortunately, the spitting relieved him and I was once again very happy with my once deliberate decision not to have a rug in the living room. I think I mopped eight times, the floor kept sticking. A hard lesson for Wout, but nowadays he neatly throws in a lot of water when he pours a drink.”

This article can be found in Kek Mama 02-2022.

Curious about more mothering blunders? Every month you read a new ‘That went wrong’ story on Kekmama.nl.