Staying - for love

We're still ill, believe it or not. Runny noses, coughs, but thankfully no fever at the moment. I've managed to work my full days, so I still feel a bit as if I get to be on a tropical island with my feet up (in comparison to being at home). For those of you whom I haven't shared the news with yet: life is good, and it is good right here where we are, at home. Three weeks ago, on the day where we had a buyer for our flat, we put all our plans in reverse, and decided to stay in Berlin. My husband will have to do some (3-day) commuting, but our decision to leave made us realize what we have here. A home. And a good home, in a city that makes life easy. Long story short, I'm happy with this decision. The moving package just didn't add up. Maybe in a year, maybe with another job. But not now. I saw a magnet today in a store I went to: Berlin Liebt Dich. Well, Berlin, I Love You Too.

A video can often say more than I can

I've forwarded this around to some of you, but for the rest, watch 3 minutes that fits in with my own thoughts (and blog ramblings) from the past few months:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=530676213640008&set=vb.100000929017508&type=2&theater

And in the end, think of one of my favorite quotes (from Gandhi).

Sick, sick and sick again

It's probably not surprising that I'm blogging less now that I'm at the office full time. But the real reason is that, out of four weeks at work, the family has been ill for three. Last week everyone except for me had the flu - that was fun. Did I mention that this included the weekends, so that I didn't get any rest? Now my husband is traveling for work (barely on his feet, though), and my youngest two are back at daycare (very snotty, though), and my eldest is still at home with the babysitter with mild fever. And me? I'm at the office, doing what I wanted to do: work. And still enjoying it! If I'd be at home, I would have been at home with one ill child or another for four weeks now. Without a moment of rest. And now? I bike to work (=sport), I have a nice lunch (=not just sandwiches), I meet lots of people (=social life), I get to do a lot of thinking and writing and meetings (=intellectual challenge), and I feel like I'm doing something useful (=purpose), and am valued (=self-worth). And I can go to the bathroom ALL ON MY OWN!

Women - with kids - not at the office

Or at least not full time. Or at least not if the men work full time. Or at least very, very rarely so. In Germany at least. In coherent sentences: I have given my application decision not to mention the kids some thought over the past three weeks at the office. Would they have taken me if I had "come out" then? Answer: 90  percent no. Not because my colleauges are bad people, but simply because a full-time job - requiring some extra hours and dedication to pull it through on such a low salary - is not quite family compatible. I haven't come across many parents (partly because the institution has lots of young employees). I can only afford our babysitter to cover afternoons and a whole bunch of sick days so far (again, as I type this week) because my husband earns well enough to cover parts of this - and the rest of our life! It's really sad. Not for me, because I have my kids.But what about those women who sit at the office, in their prime concieving years, who are giving the issue of children some thought, but see the reality of most jobs these days (and this is an NGO!). There's something so rotten in this whole system, and I am so lucky - and grateful - that I can work anyway, despite all the odds. (Still, let's see how long this works!)

Work hard - play when?

I often think of myself as very protestant in terms of my work ethics: work first, play later. I rarely procrastinate. The problem is that there's always work to do, especially housework, and just lying down happens very rarely as a result. And when I do plan in a treat to relax, it doesn't always happen as planned. For the second weekend in a row, after a tough week with long days plus husband gone three nights, I had planned luxury tasks for the weekend: lots of Jamie Oliver cooking. Well, come the weekend and husband collapses in bed with the flu - and has been there sleeping for 24 hours. What do I do? Jamie Oliver my way through the weekend WITH the kids. Zucchini penne last night, making our own ketchup today, and steaks with roasted potatos with the prior tonight. It's all doable, and even fun. But relaxing? Maybe next weekend...