Cogs can think.

It’s so satisfying to see my mother act al happy when Shenna’s around. Shenna is the daughter of Jolanda, one of my mother’s best friends. Me mum met Jolanda at a sort of support group for breast cancer patients, and ever since, they’ve been very close. Jolanda is much younger than my mother, and, as you have figured out by now, mother of one daughter. I guess Shenna is about 3 or 4 years old.

Both me mum and me dad start radiating when they talk about Shenna, and I can certainly understand why. I’m not that much into kids (they’re manageable alone, but when in groups, it’s just chaos and pandemonium, and I like ordnung), but Shenna is such a happy toddler. It’s contagious.

Other than that, my mother gave birth to three boys. No daughters. They’re not disappointed with that, but when I got older, my father teased me a lot about how they in fact wanted a girl (I’m their third and last child). I can see how Shenna kind of fills that gap sufficiently until the grandchildren arrive.

And since those won’t sprout from my two brothers, that task is up to me. Heaven forbid the day.