The trees were radiating. Adorned in thick green scarfs of leaves.

It was a

no-jacket-but-taking-a-sweater-to-be-sure kind of weather. The birds sang and the

sunlight softly shimmered through the branches of the tree. Nora breathed in

deeply. Dutch summer is one of her favorite smells. The smell of wet sidewalk tiles.

It was 8.40, Sunday morning. Time for FitMom sports class. She walks towards the

bike shed. She was still not used to the fact that in this city, her new “home”, she only

needs to use one lock. As a matter of habit - or protest? - Nora uses two locks.

Especially on her husband’s bike, which she prefers using over her own. His bike is

not only fast, it also looks cool, and reminds her of their “D.I.N.K.Y.” time together in

Amsterdam.

When Nora arrives at the meeting point in the park, she scans the field for women

wearing bright pink elastic fitness bands. It only takes her a few seconds to identify a

group of women. She locks her bike and walks up to the group. The sports instructor,

dressed in a bright pink jacket, greets her by saying: “Hiiiii, I am Sadie!” Vaguely, Nora

recognizes Sadie’s face. Sadie is a different instructor than who usually teaches the

classes on Sunday mornings.

Soon, the group expands with more members. Each of them carrying their pink

elastic band. Most of them wrapped the band around their waist and some of them

carried it in their hand. “Oh hey!”, Nora hears from her left side. It is Marion, one of the

young women who she befriended during past classes. Marion looks heated, as if she

went for a run already.

As usual, Marion wears a hoodie in a faded color and tight black leggings. Her style is

laid back and she looks calm. She looks like someone who can take decisions and

stand by them. Something that is hard for Nora, who enjoys keeping things open

and navigating in a world of potentiality.

Marion just got her first child. A boy. Marion thought motherhood did not suit her,

but during the COVID pandemic, her perspective changed. Locked to the house with

nothing more to do than her work and running small errands, she desperately

needed something new in her life. Her partner, Annie, was often gone working since

she got a job as a surgeon in the local hospital. When the pandemic started, Marion

and Annie got a labradoodle. A furry puppy.

Just like Nora, Marion and Annie just moved to Amersfoort. They reckoned it was a

smart thing to do when walking the ladder of grown ups. They lived next to a young

family. To Marion’s surprise, the family was actually kind of cool. The father liked to go

on surf trips, the mother was into ceramics and the twins - two boys that were

around the age of 5 and 7 - were often playing outside. The family was international,

half Puerto Rican and half Dutch. They enjoyed having friends over, sharing

home-cooked meals. The kids often joined these dinners even though they lasted

until late at night.

One day, when Annie came home late from work and was undoing her white

doctor's shoes, Marion told her: “Why don’t we start a family?” Annie looked up. It
was her dream to start a family, Marion knew this since the day they met 2,5 years

ago. “I thought a dog was enough for you?” Annie joked. Marion smiled and said:

“Well, I changed my mind”. Annie smiled. She never heard Marion saying this out

loud.

Twelve months later, Marion and Annie welcomed their son Jip. It all happened quite

fast. Marion enjoyed being a mother and the fact that Annie was more at home now.

At the same time, it was hard to compromise her freedom. She missed the possibility

of seeing friends until late at night, going on impulsive trips, joining protests and

marches whenever she wanted. Everything had consequences now. Whether it was

her breasts that started leaking or coordinating agendas with Annie.

Before joining FitMom, Marion doubted. She had seen those “Mom” sports groups

from a distance. Those horrendous flashy pink bands. From far away, it looked like a

little tribe of conspiring mothers. It was Annie who encouraged Marion to take a trial

class. Marion joined and actually realized all these mothers wearing pink bands, they

were just like her. Going through a major identity shift. Struggling with adulthood.

Becoming a first time parent, paying off their mortgage, succeeding professionally

while being a good friend.