One of the greatest parenting secrets my mother passed on was to raise my child as a friend, a best friend. So when my daughter asked me recently what my opinion is about the phrase “I am not your friend, I am your mother” I was rather shocked. In my book, I cannot possibly imagine
Category: Family
Christmas season is hectic, and each year I promise myself that I will not be dragged into the rush and commercialism. So far I have managed to trim down and cut a lot of corners, but have nevertheless ended up on the receiving end of other people’s hectic schedules. This is not always a bad
When in Berlin for the holidays, my daughter inevitably visits her best friend. M and M have been friends since Pre-School and in spite of the fact that we moved away from Berlin in 2006 the girls managed to keep in touch in the most marvellous way, which I attribute to the magic of the
My kitchen is the last place you will ever look into for traditional Christmas cookies, especially German Christmas Cookies. Let me tell you why: my mother learned to bake cookies very late in life, and had it not been for the American and European expats she met during our years in Kenya and Mexico, she
It is quintessential Filipino to first fine the humour in tragedy or adversity. Whether it a political debacle or natural disaster, or even personal loss, the Filipino family will strive to find a way to continue to laugh together. For those who are not familiar with this peculiar trait, or who are married into it
The other day I wrote briefly about rising from the rubble, rebuilding my life, my self, and parts of my soul. One of the most powerful poems of Dr. Maya Angelou has been a guiding light throughout this process, and it is not the first time I share it here. Nevertheless, I sometimes need to
Translation: Rhetorical question: IF I go ahead and transfer the contents of the open tin of cat food into a tupperware and place it it in the fridge, and IF I forget to label it, and IF my husband makes himself a sandwich with it because he believed it to be pate… and IF he
My shoulder is absolutely killing me today after a Sunday of hauling Christmas decorations up from the basement and decorating the apartment. I had to grin in amusement when I ran into my neighbour who was doing the exact same thing, and we agreed that this was our fitness hour. She had it worse than
“In order to be happy we must first possess inner contentment; and inner contentment doesn´t come from having all we want; but rather from wanting and appreciating being grateful for all we have”– His Holiness the Dalai Lama There are a few photographs in my portfolio that I am proud of, not because of the
Sounds like the title of a Manga story doesn’t it? Let me introduce you first to Catzilla… Most of you know her already as Cherry, my Berliner rescue cat, adopted in April 2018. What was handed over to me as a depressed and maladjusted cat has evolved into a completely self-assured, affectionate and determined little
