'We were a family with me as the love child'

'Summer 1965, Else and Teun Stekelenburg. Madly in love at a summer camp in Wilnis. They had just met through their two brothers, who were friends. Within a year it became a must, because I was on my way. They married in June 1966.

We became a loving family with me as our love child. In 1976 my sister was born and three years later another set of twins. That changed our family completely. There was hardly any attention for me as a thirteen-year-old teenager. I often had to help take care of the little ones. As soon as I turned eighteen, I left. I was accepted at the Film Academy in Amsterdam and went my own way.

My father worked happily for the same organization for 35 years. My mother was more enterprising. In addition to the family, she ran an antique shop, then a second-hand bookshop, organized book fairs and became an antiquarian.

After my father's retirement in 2005, they moved from Zeist to Bergen aan Zee: my mother's dream place. They enjoyed it there for many years. We all experienced beautiful moments with a large family of nine grandchildren and (since 2022) my grandson.

My father died on October 4, 2023 from pancreatic cancer, after a festive, Burgundian life with too little exercise. Not long after, my mother deteriorated rapidly and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in February 2024. She now lives in a protected nursing home in Zeist and is gradually losing control of her life. In this way, after my father, I also lost my mother, the strong woman that she was.

I found this photo while cleaning out their house. It gives me comfort and makes me think of those happy first ten years of my life.”