I'm leaving, the aftertalk

What are you doing to your children? At Ik Vertrek, the ingredients can vary, the recipe is the same. A lot of oh and ah and luckily they are well and I am not, a touch of jealousy and then finish with a pinch of schadenfreude, a drop of pity and a generous splash of love and respect for the departing ones in question.

Yesterday we peeked inside the Henebiens family who chose the village of Mallnitz in Austria as their permanent residence. I shuddered and grumbled, because I find such a winter sports village fun for a week, two is already a lot, but longer... Brr. There is no Heidi (from Klara, remember?) in me who frolics through the mountains looking for a little goat. I also felt sorry for the children who were pushed into a village school (and were welcomed by a teacher with Heidi braids, completely in character) and found it ‘incredibly stupid’ both before and after. The poor little sheep. Because your parents want an adventure, your life is turned upside down. Anyway.

Just a few things that caught my attention:

• Didn’t you also think that Mrs. Henebiens was a lot nicer than Mr.? And more patient. She gets one cat after another and a ‘sorry’ is rarely included, because she immediately realized that the boiler was broken when the water gives less heat than normal.
• How resilient children are. A year later they speak the language, have friends, and everything will be fine again.
• That long hair looks absolutely great on Mrs. Henebiens. And the marinière-Chanel look too, I think she’s a cutie.
• That you also do local business by participating in the village. It goes further than giving stroopwafels or flower bulbs while you struggle through their language.Integrating is something you can learn. The Henebientjes speak the language and Mrs. Henebiens just goes to the village choir on her bike after a fourteen-hour workday to sing along in dialect. Look, that’s how you get the mayor onto your terrace.
• Then the other family that toasted at the end with two plastic cups. Guys, couldn’t that be a bit more festive?
• A farmer's golf course in Spain, who knows it might become a hit.
• ‘Fortunately, we have a large garden’, quite a good answer to the question: how does your relationship survive?

Ik Vertrek was again a treat, with the recurring conclusion every week: I’ll stay a little longer.