Why to Have Kids (Reason 430782431)

One aspect about having kids that never ceases to amaze me is that - and this will surprise those who have followed this blog more closely - you meet fascinating people you wouldnt otherwise meet. Take today, where my eldest was invited to a birthday party of a kindergarden friend. The entire family was invited to join, so we did. Alongside a wonderful warm day in a park, with the kids covered in mud and happy, I talked to the parents (a super succesful artist who has solo exhibited in big museums, such as the Tate, and her husband, who is a very succesful electronic music composer and DJ) and some of their friends. Thanks to where we live (smack in the middle of Berlin) and to our school (bilingual), we meet a lot of people different to ourselves through the kids. We have also befriended neighbours much faster than we would have otherwise, thanks to our kids' obsession with sticking drawings under people's front doors. For me, who takes a long time to be open to new people, I am very grateful to my kids for this - among a million other reasons. Some doors may close when you become a parent (see yesterday's post), but so many more important doors are at the same time opened...