What makes my mother happy

She has cataracts. Suddenly. That sounds like gout. Old, in short. But hey, Pleun (I call my mother by her first name, something from the free-spirited 70s I believe, I know no better), weren't you the person who said that you really had to take care of your wrinkles (my mother worked for years at Douglas), but also had to cherish them? ’You have earned those wrinkles,‘ she always said to her clients.

So that cataract, you get it because you've been in the world for so long. But it does sound a bit old, I get that. Although the operation is a minor procedure and soon you'll have eyes so young and fresh that you won't even need reading glasses anymore. I can't say that with my +3. Anyway.

But until that time comes, it is of course a bit tricky. Especially if you love reading as much as my mother does. As if the universe felt it (okay, okay, I'm making it bigger than it is, but it came in quite handy) I received an email with the joyful message that I could try Storytel for a month. So I downloaded the app and got lost among all the options. Should I listen to Harry Potter narrated by Stephen Fry? Or to the autobiography of Michelle Obama by...Michelle Obama? I fantasize about an evening by candlelight with a blanket over our legs while I listen with my daughters to Matilda read by Kate Winslet. Immediately good for their English.

Now you might think: but it was for your mother? Sure, but I gave her my login. Great fun. I see that she has already added two books to the virtual bookshelf. Now only one person can listen at a time, so I'm going to convert that one-month trial subscription into a regular subscription. One for Pleuntje and one for me.