A brand new experience!

After travelling and working on the farm the past few weeks I am in a completely different but exciting new world...I am in a terribly sweaty Darwin, at my cousin Imke. Imke and I didn't know each other that well until 6 years ago. Around that time I was working in a pub in the Outback near Darwin: we knew that we were both in Australia, but we did not have each others email addresses. By weird coincidence we ran into each other in Darwin (20 million people in Australia and you run into someone you know...). Since then we kept in touch and 2,5 years ago Imke was in the Netherlands with her daughter Josie. We had an incredible nice time, so meeting up here would be great fun guaranteed.


Imke still lives near Darwin, in a place called Humpty Doo (see sunset at a nearby lagoon). Josie is 4 years now and Josie has a little brother, 7 months old Liam. And that's where the new world starts: until now I have not spend more than one day with really young kids or even babies. Yes, I have lots of experience with bigger kids (yes mum, I know, I can still be a kid), but the tiny ones...Oh no, I am too afraid to 'brake' them.

So my cousin warned me that it would be full on. And guess what, I surprised my cousin and myself; I absolutely love spending all my time here. Of course the kids are no perfect angels, but that makes it all more lively! On the right you can see the moment Imke decided to dump 'het pierebadje' and get a bigger pool.



At first Josie was shy, but that went away quickly. Now I can wrestle with her without a problem, I can eat her alive (always screaming big time when I chase her), I can throw her away in the pool, I can steal some kisses of her and I can get a little bit angry with her if she does something naughty. She even calls me ' mum' sometimes. Of course by accident; Imke and I have to laugh and Josie gets really shy then.


Liam deserted even quicker. In the beginning when he cried, I could pick him up, but I could not get him quiet. The next step was that I could get him to calm down as long as his mum was close by and now, I can 'hush' him to sleep, he follows me around when he's looking for 'a mum' and he gives the biggest hugs anyone can ever give me.


In the meantime I'm spending lots of quality time with Imke as well. I am teaching her a bit about her new computer, we wrote a letter of interest for a job Imke would like to have (and they have already called her for an interview: great stuff!) and I am just helping Imke around the house to give her a sense of holiday as well.

We do a lot of walking, swimming and once in a while we go to the pub to have a nice ice cold beer...Being with small kids you have to watch what you are doing though...See picture above how I got confused...In the meantime Josie is picking up a habit almost every young kid does: finishing the beer bottle...



Anyway, after 2 weeks of babies and kids (I held a 3 day old baby today even though I told the mother better not too, because I am not used to the little ones...I'm learning though!) I am off to New Zealand on Saturday. But before that some kids logic (true story!)

Setting: Maaike and 4 kids of each 4 years old in the pool (of course all the mothers were taking advantage of my energy and they were taking a relaxing day off with Imke next to the pool...)

Kid 1: Maaike, who's mum are you?
Kid 2: Yeah, who is your baby?
Me: I do not have a baby.
[silence and 3 pairs of weird eyes and one normal pair-Josie- were looking at me]
Kid 1 (definitely the most rude one): But you are old!
Me: Well yes, I am old enough to have a baby, but I don't have one yet.
Kid 2: Ok, so you are a kid still.
Kid 1: Yes you're a kid!!
Me: No, not really, I am a grown-up without kids.
[Mumbling]
Kid 1: Ok, I get it, you are a big kid!

Kids logic: you've got to love it. And it's true, totally true!