I’ve had a month of
shocking Wednesdays. We enrolled both
kids into all-day daycare on Wednesdays a couple of months ago. A whole day all to myself usually resulted in
a 5-hour dusting, mopping, vacuuming, laundry, bathroom-scrubbing,
glass-cleaning, yard mowing, porch sweeping, and sheet-changing spree. . . to
be followed by a couple hours of grocery shopping, errand-running,
dinner-preparing, and if I was really efficient, maybe. . . I’d do something
crazy, like. . . sit down. Once V returned
back from his trip to America,
we decided he’d take every Wednesday in July off, so that we’d have the
date-days we hadn’t had in. . . well. . . years! I was excited. I wasn’t sure when a week of chores was going
to be completed, but I knew that we’d squeeze them in here or there. . . like I
did before my sweet baby tornado was enrolled in school one-day a week.
The first Wednesday,
after a morning of brunch and coffee, we received the mail. That horrible letter sealing our fate shook
in my husbands’ sweat-drenched fingertips.
“Celeste,” he said, and I knew something was wrong. This was not a ‘honey’ conversation. “What?
What is it?” he was pale and clearly upset. This was bad, bad news. I knew from the look on his face, our first
‘date day’ was ruined, with no hope of redemption.
The doomed letter in
his hands was correspondence from Eneco, our electric and gas provider. I
learned something very important that day - The Netherlands utility companies bill
customers using an estimated monthly
rate, which is calculated by reviewing the prior 12-months usage. At the end of the yearly cycle, the actual and
billed usage is compared and the customer either owes money or gets a
refund. Because our rental house was empty for years before moving in, the monthly
rate we had been paying was a little over half the appropriate amount. We had
no idea our monthly rate was under-budget - compared to our Texas utility bill,
the figures were already the rate of
an electric bill in the heart of summer with 100+ degree heat beating on your
roof. The reconciling bill and it’s despairingly
large lump-sum total made me cry for an entire day. I contacted the landlord, and apparently, he
completely agreed with the rates – I guess he just shrugs at his ridiculously inefficient
home. I was shocked, heartbroken, and
despondent. I also
matter-of-factly-concluded that if utility rates and corresponding taxes were
as high in the U.S. as they are in The Netherlands – Americans would be a hell of
a lot more energy efficient.
It wasn’t
necessarily about the money – it was the principal
of the bill. I felt like I had traversed
strides above the nuisances of living in a foreign country. It had been months since the Dutch-ways had
really rocked my boat. Over the past
18-months, I had charted the waters, I was rolling the waves, I was sailing
with the wind in my hair and this letter blindly sunk my battleship. I was beyond upset. I felt helpless. I felt out of control. I felt out of tune with my own destiny. I felt victimized and unappreciated. I felt like a fool. And what do I do when I feel all these
things? I apply for jobs.
I’ve actually
applied for quite a few jobs since I’ve been here – with fruitless results. I usually just do it to amuse myself – to
confirm that the universe has sent me here to be a full-time Mom. . . and to
prove that accounting just really isn’t my thing. I had applied for numerous accounting jobs
and after sending my resume (in English), all applications were met with the
same response – “We serve our clients in our local language, you need not
apply.” The day after we received the
electric bill – I felt a determination like I hadn’t before. This wasn’t about the fact that 90% of my
mind-numbing daily conversations with my son can be summarized in two phrases:
“Sit Down! And Don’t Touch That!” This wasn’t about my complete feeling of
inadequacy as a mother to convince my daughter to put her ‘dirties in the toilet,’
after months of trying. Oh no. This wasn’t about a need to escape my daily
routine, this was something more. With diligence and purpose, I perused the Expat
websites for jobs.
I applied for a few
accounting positions like usual and without gusto, but then. . . something
caught my eye. It was a part-time job –
mostly work-from-home, with a requirement to visit the office in Haarlem
once per week. They wanted a writer,
preferably a communications or journalism major, someone who could edit photos
& videos, among other requirements.
There was no mention of needing to know Dutch - Their main purpose was to provide
information, in English, to Expats, something to which I could definitely
relate. Throwing caution to the wind, I
sent an email. I explained that while my
resume has 10 years of auditing & accounting experience, for the past
18-months, I’ve been putting all my auditing documentation skills to good use
by writing stories of our adventures here in The Netherlands. I added a link to our House Hunters International casting video, and of course, the link to my blog. I didn’t even tell V I had applied for it,
because I was so sure that I would never hear anything back from them about
it.
 |
| Last July - at the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden |
A week later V and I
pretended to be Leiden tourists for
our 2nd Wednesday date-day.
We took a canal cruise through town, complete with headset explaining
the history and the sites. We ate lunch
at the botanical garden and strolled among the blooming plants afterwards. This botanical garden is a little special to me – as strange as it sounds, it has provided me guidance in the past. As I held V’s hand, admiring the blooming
roses, the burden from the week before still bruised us. We passed ancient trees and inside my head, I
asked, please, what are we doing here, what direction is next? But the
botanical garden gave me no answers. Not
until the phone rang when we got home.
V is at his computer
(even on vacation days he still must at least send a few emails). It’s about 3 in the afternoon and I’m sitting
on the couch, reading a book. The phone
rings, which is unusual. Our phone
rarely rings. He gets up to answer it
and with a confused look, he hands it to me.
“Hello?” – I’m just as puzzled as he is.
There is a man on the phone. It’s
a Dutch man on the phone. As silly as it
sounds, I’ve never talked to a Dutch man on the phone – well, except for my
father-in-law. Then. I realize WHO it is. “Ah, yes – see. . . you are quite an unusual
applicant. . .” and he illustrates the requirements of the job in detail. He asks if I’m still interested, and if so,
if I could come in for an interview.
Next Wednesday would be fine. I
place the phone carefully back on the charger and stare at it with disbelief. “Who was that?” V asks. His voice breaks me out of my trance. I turn to him and smile.
Third Wednesday
date-day. . . after dropping off the kids, V and I spend the morning sipping
coffee, researching the company, and talking about the job. I climb to the top of my closet where my
high-heeled shoes have been collecting dust for the past 18-months. I dress in one of my Limited suit skirts and
blouse. The outfit is a stark contrast
to my typical house-shoes and jeans wardrobe.
Unaccustomed to the heels/skirt combo – I practically fall down our
steep Dutch stairs on the way out the door.
Click, click, click, my heels hobble on the well-worn sidewalk and I see
my daughter’s teacher having a lunch break in the grassy field next to the
train station. I wave and she smiles
back. I can practically read it on her
face, “What is that crazy American woman up to now?” V and I hop on the
train to Haarlem and traverse
through the town towards the office. He
kisses me good-luck, I ring the bell, and he scurries around the corner. I have a Cookie Monster figurine in my
purse. I’m greeted and led to a large
table which is apparently used for lunch, meetings, and interviews. I’m alone in the room for a few minutes and I
notice bread crumbs on the table. I nervously
brush them off the table with my red file folder. I eye the roll of paper towels, but
calculating the distance to the closest trash can – I resist the temptation to
use one to clean the table properly. I’m
playing Teri Garr’s character from Mr. Mom
- the Mom who goes back to work, who is embarrassingly scolded for
cutting her boss’ meat into bite-sized pieces and for cleaning-up her
co-workers lunch. . . I laugh at myself.
As I reach for my pen out of my purse, Cookie wishes me luck. Minutes later, I’m in the midst of an
interview.
An hour later, I
call Vinny, who has been wandering around the Haarlem Grote Markt. “Well?” he says. . . “I have a job!!! Where are you? I’ll meet you there!” We sit in the afternoon
sun and have a glass of wine in celebration.
“When do you start?” he asks.
“Next Wednesday!” I am glowing. Then
I remember, “Oh. We were supposed to
have date-day in Amsterdam next
Wednesday. . .” I trail off. The
impossible has happened – I have somewhere to be. He waves the comment it away, he’s so proud
of me. Date day week three turns out to
be more successful than either of us could have imagined.
 |
| Grote Kerk van St Bavo in Haarlem's Grote Markt |
The following
Wednesday, I drop off the kids at daycare, board the train, and head for my 1st
day of work. It feels like such a long
time since I’ve done this, but yet, it feels (almost) natural once I’m there. I talk a little too excitedly and nervously to
my new co-workers, but I guess that’s expected for your first day of work, no
matter where you are or what you’re doing.
The fourth Wednesday of July, after one full day of work, I traverse the
cobblestone streets of Haarlem . On my way back to the station, I pause to
admire the Grote Markt church, bikes flying by me, hundreds of people enjoying
a cocktail or dinner in the warm late-afternoon sun. The amazement of it all –
a job, in social media, in The Netherlands, that allows me to still spend time
with my kids – each item individually would have surprised me, much less all of
them combined and I take the moment to appreciate everything. I feel proud of what I had accomplished thus
far, and I know this is just the beginning of another journey.
July: A month of stress and action, wonder and
hope, acceptance and excitement. I’m
ready for August and everything it will bring.
When a door closes, a window opens. . . Hang on, Little Tomato, things
will be alright . . . and happily, all that other stuff.
**In celebration of my new adventures as social media coordinator, you can now follow my blog on Twitter (@CourageCrazy)!
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