Olka:
“Specify what you like to do the most and plan how to make money on it” ….
This popular quotation has been going through my head for a very long time. After ten years spent “at the blackboard”, I missed tasting the new and unknown. What is more, the bigger the kids, the more financial expenses they require. So I started to wonder if there was anything I could do to earn some money on, and which would keep me away from boredom at the same time.
I like to drink coffee with Ewka. Ewka does not pay me for it. Neither does my husband, actually he would more likely be willing to spend some money to make me stop drinking this coffee. He seems less annoyed though when Ewka comes round to our place for a coffee. Ewka takes her kids then, we drink in the upstairs hallway, my kids are sitting with us, he’s off. He can then stay in the garage, his kingdom. I usually go alone to Ewka. I do not take kids. I have too many of them. Marcin knows he will have to keep an eye on all three when I’m gone. In practice, he sends them to their grandmother, my mother-in-law, who lives just behind the fence. Nevertheless, he prefers it when I invite Ewka. I do not know if he likes our coffee meetings. She likes Ewka, so he does not mind. If you ask him about our strengths, he will answer right away: “You are the best in BLABLAYING!”
It didn’t use to be a problem in the past. Ewka visited me almost every day. Then she gave birth to Dominik. There was no tragedy, but it was easier for me to leave kids with Marcin than for her to pack the baby and the whole equipment to a car. Ever since Weronika was born, we drink coffee with Dominik in his room. We sit on the floor, cups in our hands, Ewka usually holds Weronika with one hand, and a cup of coffee with the other . I TAKE OVER Weronika every once in a while, but I do not smell milk, so Weronika rather lets me drink coffee calmly as she will not stay in my arms for too long.
Coffee is a ritual. I like little black from the coffee machine. Ewka prefers black groundcoffee. But she does not have a coffee machine yet, so I accept any coffe Ewka offers. When I am the host, Ewka asks for latte, she is very polite, she knows that I like to please my guests with a cup of coffee from my coffee machine. This is Ewka. Correct and polite. Kind to everyone.
Unfortunately, I will not earn a openny on drinking coffee, but the joy of sharing our thoughts on and around coffee is so great that the taste of “the new” is generated for me with each and every sip 🙂 and it’s enough for now!
Eva:
Coffee. There’s been a lot of problem with it lately. I usually want to visit Olka on my own, but Patryk always makes me take my children with me. To my surprise, Olka also encourages me to take them with me. Olka’s coffee with children is the best scenario for Patryk. For me, a mother on a wonderful maternity leave, leaving the house (with or without children) is the best solution and the only entertainment. Olka actually recently comes to me alone. Poor Marcin. There was a time that she took all three of them and then it was really loud. For Patryk, it does not make a difference where we drink coffee, because he simply does not like our coffee meetings. He does not understand them. He claims that it is a waste of time, that “we talk about fools, gossips, about bags, shoes and clothes”. Yes, my husband thinks that these are the top of our intellectual choices for topics to talk about. Honestly, I do not even try to correct him. Of course, handbags and shoes appear in the chats, but most of the time during our “coffebreaks” we discuss on children, their calming, asking them to take care of themselves. Usually it happens after at least an hour. I love to drink coffee in silence, when kids do nopt shout, do not ask questions, do not run around. Then we talk about life, then we learn from each other. Then we drink real coffee. Since November, our coffeebreaks have been accompanied by Weronika hanging by her boobs. She doesn’t at least make the mess. It’s no secret – for these few moments of peace our homes are changing into one big children’s room. This, however, may be more disturbing to Olka, when we drink upstairs at her house, because she loves to keep her house clean. My house has so far been taken over by kids.
Olka:
Our children grow up alongside and together, but the way we bring them up is different. I am a typical teacher – I often raise my voice at home, I plan everything, the kids don’t argue with me because they know that they have no chance to outshout me. They usually do what I expect from them, though rarely right away.
Ewka, on the other hand, gives her children more freedom, has more patience, doesn’t scream, although she likes to use swearwords like I do. Ewka doesn’t force her children to anything, usually adapts to their needs. She doesn’t get tired and doesn’t drown in self-pity. Dominik is very cheerful, he often grins, he is really likable. I don’t know Weronika well yet, she usually sleeps or eats. But when she sleeps she also looks happy.
In one thing Ewka surprised me when she became a mother. Earlier, I thought she would try to get Dominik to her mother as often as possible, so that she would have moments for herself. Surprisingly, she insisted that she would manage everything herself.
Actually, they both manage it themselves, because from the very beginning Patryk was deeply involved in Dominik’s upbringing. They gave up many social events. Ewka never wanted somebody else to look after Dominik. Even I was asked to look after Dominik no more than just a couple of times. That’s what Ewka chose and, in my opinion, it was the best for her at the time. Motherhood has changed a lot in her. These are positive changes.
After my youngest son was born, I did the same. Until my return to work, Maciek was with us all the time. We took him with us everywhere. We did not ask anyone for help. When I returned to work, Ewka became his nanny and then she became the second most important woman in his life, haha. For a long time she had occupied this honorable place, even when she had stopped to look after him, and her duties were taken over by another nanny, Agata. Ewka always put a smile on Maciek’s face. It goes on like this until now.
Ewka:
Our children are five rascals. Olka, due to her age and being a mother 8 years longer than me, will always be a more experienced and wiser mother. In fact, I give children a lot of freedom in upbringing and then suffer the consequences. Dominik uses it and grows into an unruly child. Is this the result of my educational mistakes? Absolutely not. This is the effect of the child’s upbringing option I chose and which was the most convenient for me at the time. Finally, for 2.5 years, we devoted all our time and attention to Dominik. Except for these coffee breaks. I was convinced that only I have the right to bring him up, take care of him, because he is my child, not my sister’s, mother’s or grandfather’s. He was with me all the time. Since Weronika appeared, he has become unbearable. Some would probably say that this is a two-year-old rebellion. I often justify him that way. Weronika is still a baby, but she will not have it so easily with me!
Olka’s children: Natalka, Emil and Maciuś, each one is different. Natalka is a small lady and rebel. Olka’s got tough times with her. Emil is pure Marcin. A little smart aleck. Macius is a sweet mommy’s boy. a little “hero”, as he calls himself. He keeps Olka close, she will not have it easy with him too, haha. Olka is a mother with principles. However, even these rules don’t keep her off troubles with her little ones. And they will sometimes express their selfhood in a really direct way …
