Category: Being a Dad

This week, my daughter had her first swimming lesson. A quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level, and another quarter is prone to flooding by river. As a result, learning to swim is part of our culture. Still, when my four-year-old said ‘I can swim already, and I want to dive in the deep pool’ right before her first lesson, I found myself slightly worried.

It seemed like a year, but it was only eight weeks. Eight weeks ago the lockdown in the Netherlands came down, and this week it was eased. My daughter went back to school… well, back-ish.

Much of the world is in some degree of quarantine or another at this time. And being stuck at home with a child can be… challenging.

Since about one-and-a-half years I have a beard — I feel very Viking now. That has had some unexpected consequences regarding my daughter and boundaries.