I’m having lunch. Little drowsy from rising early, all numbers and dates I was juggling with, and all those miles I make through the village here. “The family” has arrived not so long ago, and that always brings some extra work – because they themselves do a lot to help us!

“The family” – that is, of course, ours, and they are at home here

They know exactly where the potato peeler is, they fill the fridge with dutch cheese and rye bread (and much more) and nonchalantly ask which house they have been assigned. Some of them always want the same.

My oldest sister wants room 4. Period. Enjoy her afternoon nap on the terrace in the sun and everything on the ground floor. Her knees don’t want to do exactly what knees should do anymore, even though they’re made of titanium, so a person has to adapt.

The other sister assures me several times that it doesn’t matter to them: “If necessary, we put a mattress in the training room, that’s not a problem at all, you know that!” Yes, I do know that, but before I’m going to allow her to sleep on a mattress in the training room, a lot has to happen.

I make the puzzle and make schedules to accommodate all guests well

There is the group of workers, the family Zwart will arrive (a.k.a. Familia Preto – I’ll come back to that) and my family’s there.

You automatically take into account people’s preferences if you know them, so that goes in the equation. My brother-in-law wants a good bed, for example, because he likes to sleep.

Well, all the beds are good, but when you know that, you give someone the best bed you can find, don’t you? Certainly if he’s so nice to finish my greenhouse project on day One, together with my brother.

.

My puzzle is exactly right before the group of 27 Italians arrives

Next challenge is the arrival of the other family, jokingly called Familia Preto. They spent years here on holiday with the whole family. Youngest daughter Roos has been a volunteer here for years – a summer without Roos was not a summer.

Now they are going to come with the extended family. The eldest children have relationships, and they come along (or have to come along … or they whined and nagged until they were allowed to go … I want to stay out of that).

Good for them, because they come exactly while I have a nice offer

I don’t even remember, but it’s so much instead of so much, and the first so much is less. That’s nice, because it’s actually three families – young couples need a lot of space, literally and figuratively. And also: being together all the time is not wanted. You want to be able to sleep comfortably, sit, hang, nap with your mouth a little open, read exciting book or surf to your heart’s content.

On the internet then.

(For the real thing, you really have to drive 20 minutes to the beach and do all that effort to “conquer” the waves.)

So they’re taking advantage of that nice offer

Well, okay, okay, profiteers might not be the right name and a bit exaggerated. They also took advantage of the offer of a price fighter to get here – didn’t mind to get up early, hang around the airport, sit in a full cabin, breakfast on a terrace in Porto and an hour and a half on the highway.

Done with the puzzle. Everybody has the right accommodation. I’m sitting down to have lunch and suddenly I feel a few arms around my neck.

How?! What?! But it is not such a fright … those arms belong to Roos of course.

Familia Preto has arrived! There they are!day on LinkedIn.