Is there hope for mums yet?

In the 1980 I left Holland convinced Rotterdam was the most boring city in the world.

It had its center and culture destroyed in the war and new buildings eracted, while the rest of Europe and Holland preserved their beautiful exciting old buildings.  

As a result I felt that I was living in the ugliest and most inferior city of all and I was always slightly embarrassed to admit that I lived in Rotterdam and not Amsterdam.

Rotterdam, a city snubbed by tourists.

How annoying!

 

So there was no love lost when I emigrated to New Zealand. 

But you can guess what happened when I arrived in Auckland in the 80’s. The shock when I saw this city.

However the volcanoes, the beaches and the Waitakeres made up for its dreariness and I never felt inferior living in Auckland.

 

Then this year I went back to Holland.

And visiting Rotterdam was certainly not high on my agenda. Who wanted to visit that city?

However my sister ignored my protests and took me on a tour.

And what did I see?

Nothing compared to my childhood image. I saw a sophisticated, modern and lively European cosmopolitan city, where the old and the new AND boats were all beautifully integrated.

So something shifted and my childhood inferiority moved on!

 

All this got me thinking! Is there hope for mums yet?

Can the same thing happen between children and parents?

Will travelling through life eventually allow my daughters to see their mum as a competent person and have them give up their current unflattering inferior image? Hmmm, I cannot wait.