I should start with the fact that becoming a father is my proudest moment. But that would not be the truth (don't get me wrong, becoming a father is second on the list). But today I will share my proudest moment, which I don't talk about often as it is a pretty dark one.
*This photo is from 2 years before when I was in Suriname for my Grandmothers 80`s birthday. *
It was June 25th in 2012. I was at home in the Netherlands with my oldest and second one (5 months at the time), and I got the call that no one wants to get, especially not at my age at the time. My mother died very unexpectedly (at least for me) in Suriname after spending 1 night in the hospital. At the worst time possible, she was supposed to move that week, and the house that she was living in had to be empty before the 1st of July.
I think that a few questions may arise: how can this possibly be his proudest moment?
It was the focus and mental state my brother and I both were in, while our whole world was tearing apart.
After the call and a quick moment for myself (I did not want my kids to see me emotionally), I called my uncle who has a travel agency, to claim the first possible flight to Suriname. 19 hours later, my brother picked me up from the airport in Suriname.
There was not really time to grief, as we had to organize a funeral, empty a house and cancel all moving plans that week.
It should be the most stressful and emotional week ever, but my brother and I were in an extreme flow state the whole week and managed to not only organize the funeral, but also empty the house, store all the belongings (that were not lost, but that is a story for another time) and fix all the paperwork from her work. People from Suriname will know how extremely difficult all the above is with a very tight schedule, but we managed it.
So yes, my proudest moment came at a very sad time.
My mother 2 years before.
p.s. my grieving process came later, but I see that I have to explain that on day 27.