‘You don’t have just one bathroom, do you?’

Image: Nine IJf

Laura Hogendoorn is editor-in-chief of Mamaplaats and columnist for Kek Mama. She lives in ‘t Gooi, together with her boyfriend Oscar and their children Roef (8), Sierd (6) and Maia (4).

“Oh, what a cute little living room…” I look up. Am I hearing this right?

Next to me is a boy with blond spikes, a friend of my son. From five. He thinks my living room is cute, I just heard. Or actually my living room.

Cute

Now I admit right away: I don’t live in a castle. Don’t have a gigantic kitchen island and no dining table that can comfortably seat twenty people. But I don’t think it’s really small. And hearing the word cute coming out of a five year old’s mouth is just weird. Although I have become used to something lately, because actually all children who come to play with my children have something to notice. About my, as far as I know, very happy and non-abnormal living and lifestyle.

A small selection: “Huh, but you really don’t have an alarm in your house?!” Eh, no, we just have a key, but thanks for asking. Or this one: “You don’t have just one bathroom, do you?!” Especially the words ‘not at all’… Always nice when people really feel sorry for you. And this week I heard a friend from school say to my son: “How high is your car on the road, by the way.” Well, this kid now sees something different than a Ferrari and Bugatti. Good for development, shall we say.

Also read – Logetjes in the house: “In the evening all strangers showed up at the door” >

In ‘t Gooi

But the highlight came from a boy from my oldest class. He moved within ‘t Gooi. His parents had warned him in advance that the new house would be slightly smaller than the previous one. And not freestanding either.

“Living in ‘t Gooi, sometimes you look a bit surprised, but honestly? I think it’s dellicious”

On the first visit, the boy looked closely at his new home from the road. “Yeah, that’s fine, isn’t it? And lots of front doors too,” he said. His parents found out that he mistook the entire block of six houses for one. Bam, shattering the delicate child’s soul. Living in ‘t Gooi, sometimes you look a bit weird, but honestly? I think it’s dellicious. And above all very entertaining.

This article appears in Kek Mama 11-2022.

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