Deals and promises

Waking up to a snowy Haarlem (although it soon evaporated) made me long for Christmas. Although we are a month away, I just want to fast forward to the weekend before Christmas. The weekend is in fact already planned. I have our cleaning lady coming over to give the house a good Christmas clean, and myself a good exercise! It’s a Swedish tradition in our family. The house had to be spic and span. We would take out the oriental rugs, and brush them with snow (my mother claimed it would return the sparkle to our turn-of-the-century carpets). All silver would be polished and the china would get another wash. Christal chandeliers would also get a good wash. We would buy hyacinths, that would spread a perfumed fragrance around the house, and oranges with cloves would be hung up in the kitchen window (this was before fragranced candles and potpourri sachets).

There are some traditions that have been left behind. Such as celebrating advent with burning a candle every Sunday. I should pick that up again. For children it’s especially important, as it signifies the countdown.

But I have more immediate countdowns on my mind. My husband just left for a trip to Germany. He won’t be back until Wednesday. Not very long, but the fact is I rarely sleep without him. We have this standing agreement that I won’t ever have to, and where he goes I go too. To ensure myself of his good behaviour I casually told him not to do anything I wouldn’t so.
“Sure I won’t”.
“And no prostitutes”.
“Ok then”, he says reluctantly.
“No girls or women at all. No katoys or cross dressed men either for that matter”. I want to ensure that there are no options left. The next few days of his life will be that of an eunuch.
“Honey, I promise. No prostitutes until the company is up and running.”

If he as much as dare...





from my bedroom window