That is my case. People use to say that luck will always walk next to someone born on a Sunday. I consider myself a lucky person although I was very weak the first ten years of my life. That is not very strange when you think that I was born in 1946, right after the 2nd World War. Even so, I was lucky because I always was rescued in a miraculous way when something severe happened. I once was rescued as a baby while falling between the train and the platform. As a baby I have been operated several times and I had tuberculosis. During many years my mom had to go with me to a Health centre to have me treated for that.

Then, of course, I had all the health problems children use to have and I have been in hospital a couple of times.

As a matter of fact i was a quiet, shy girl. I only used to have one friend at the time. When there was some party, I didn’t want to assist. I was a loner.

In winter when the canals in Amsterdam froze, lots of children of neighbours went there to slide on the ice. My father or mother took me there as well but the moment I had the slide shoes on, I lost conscience. It was all too cold for me.

The doctor said that I was born in the wrong place in the world. I should have been born on the Canary Islands where there was eternal spring. We didn’t even know those islands existed or where they were located. I’ll write more about this in another episode of my life.

From the moment I got my first period, at eleven years old, my health got much better and I was even strong. No more tuberculosis and other problems.

In spite of having missed many months of school, I was a very good student and never had to repeat a school year. At 14 years old I finished schools and I didn’t want to study further.

I wanted to earn money to help my mother. I still remember how my sister, brother and me looked if we could find some cents to be able to buy bread. Yes…, it was a rough time for my mother.

During the last school years I had assisted to extra scholar activities like type-writing and I was so good at that, that I assured myself a job after finishing the school year. By that time you were allowed to start working at 15 years. In August 18 I had my birthday and I started working on the first of September. I was so happy that I could give my wages to my mom to help her get around. She took half of it and said that I should administrate the money she left for me.

And so it stayed until a certain amount of money (100 guilders) per month and whatever raise I got, I could keep it for myself.

This is how my mother taught me how to take care of my own money. I still am grateful for all her good lessons.