Today was such a beautiful day that I took my son out for a run/walk twice during the day. I was not alone. The streets were full of moms on strollers also out with their babies. You see, the Czech Republic is one of the most liberal when it comes to procreation. I say liberal because a woman gets to spend 3 years on maternity leave for every kid that is born. You heard that right… THREE years! A woman can literally not go back to work for 3-6 years, depending on how many children she has, but still claim a portion of her salary from the State or the employer (depending on the job.) Thus, it is no wonder that babies are everywhere.
When we were in the States, I only had 3 months. It was heartbreaking to leave Jakub in the daycare on the very early stages of his life. Now that we are in CZ, I intend to stay with him for at least a year. Meanwhile, I will use this time to network and get myself updated with the happenings in the industry. I don’t think I would like to be out of work for such a long time. I am afraid that my mind will stagnate and I would be lost when I get back to the industry.
I say that because as I was walking on the street today, I realized how simple my world has become. I have started to play the stroller game. It is a game that only moms (and some dads) understand. It goes like this. Whenever you meet a mom on the street, you give her stroller a quick, thorough look. The kind of scrutiny like in a GMP audit. Then you look at your own stroller and compare which features are better than the one you just saw. In my mind, I always manage to win this game. I have iPod speakers!
Czech the Flip 