Ode to Riekje van Osnabrugge | Good is good enough

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Riekje van Osnabrugge is a woman who has lived in Amsterdam for more than forty years. Her story offers a unique perspective on the city, diversity and the challenges of motherhood. Born in Leiderdorp, a small village near Leiden, she moved to Amsterdam in 1977 to study. She has never left since.
 

For Riekje, Amsterdam was love at first sight. She describes the city as a place full of colors, scents, different people, hustle and bustle, noise and above all humor. “The way people talk, the conviviality... it was clear to me: this was the place where I wanted to be,” says Riekje. But the city was very different then than it is now. She initially lived in the Indische Buurt, where conditions were poor with outdated houses and an environment plagued by drug use. Despite this, it was her love for the city that made her decide to stay. Riekje emphasizes that it is a city that welcomes different cultures and where life is always surprising.

When Riekje began her career as a religion teacher and later as a student minister, she faced one of her greatest challenges: finding a balance between work and family. “From the moment I became a mother, I always had to divide my attention,” she says. “I was in a team with a number of men and some of them also had children, but for them it was different.” This challenge was exacerbated by the nature of her work, which often required her to work evenings, as did her boyfriend's, which sometimes meant her child was in daycare until six o'clock. It was a constant search for ways to combine everything.

The feeling that she never fully met her responsibilities as a mother and as a working professional was often present. “I felt like I could never be a 100% good mother or a good employee,” she says. The pressure of motherhood combined with a career and a partner sometimes made it difficult to do everything well. However, she later discovered that this experience helped her to better understand how others feel when they struggle to do everything well.

One of the positive aspects of Riekje's experience is the way in which she and her partner worked together in raising their children. “Fortunately, my partner also had the attitude that we would raise the children together,” she explains. This cooperation gave her the space to tackle the challenges of motherhood without feeling entirely responsible. “I only realized later that it wasn't at all common to divide household chores together.”
 

Riekje emphasizes the importance of putting expectations into perspective: “You can't always give 100% in everything. Good is good enough, I learned that through trial and error.” This experience has helped her to live with less stress and not always feel guilty when she did not meet all expectations.

The influence of her mother
 

When Riekje was asked about the women who have influenced her the most, it was no surprise that she named her mother as her greatest source of inspiration. “My mother had six children and was 16 when the Second World War began. She was unable to go to college and always worked hard. She later kept the family together. She taught us to keep things in perspective and to have a sense of humor, even in the toughest of times,” Riekje says with admiration.

Her mother was a woman who, despite her own limited opportunities, constantly challenged herself to learn new things and fulfill her role as a mother, wife and community member. ”She was not only a mother, but also an important member of the community. She was chair of the women's association and secretary of the church council, and I learned a lot from her listening skills and her ability to treat people with respect,” says Riekje. Her mother's ability to share, even the smallest things, made a deep impression on Riekje, a lesson she now tries to pass on to her own children.
 

Living life with love and attention

Riekje's story is a reflection of the values that make Amsterdam so special. For her, the city is synonymous with diversity and openness. She appreciates the opportunity to meet different cultures and people, which enables her to put things into perspective and learn from others. Her experiences as a woman, mother and professional have taught her that life is rarely perfect, but that it can be good enough if you live it with love and attention.
 

“Whether you are a woman, a man or someone from a different culture, if you know you are doing well and that you are doing your best, then that is enough,” says Riekje. Her message is clear: be proud of what you achieve, even if it is not always perfect.