Days are getting longer with spring, but even that does not help, when your workday extends to late evening. Luckily, our winter lights are still in on.
Day 40: Light in the dark
Tag: Espoo
Day 35: Just us
The girls are at scout camp for the weekend. As a rare treat, it’s just Stuart and me for two days. So, obviously, we clean…
But once the house is clean and the spring sun shines through the window slats, it’s time to relax.
Day 34: Homework
With 2/3 of first grade behind us, the elation of the first days has settled into a steady routine. Luckily, both girls quite enjoy school and are doing well in their studies – although homework is still quite an unpleasant chore.
I have been most impressed with how differently first-grade maths is taught compared to my own school days. The girls have studied how to visualize data in charts, estimate prices, solve verbal equations, measure distance, build 3D models… all this before ‘formally’ even learning how to write the number 10. It is all about challenging problem-solving skills, not learning by heart.
I’d quite like to go back to first grade myself.
Day 3: Winter Wonderland
The first time Stuart visited Finland was for Christmas 2010. It was an exceptional December. Over one metre of snow blanketed Helsinki, and the city was running out of places to plough it. Parking lots and walkways disappeared under snow mountains in an attempt to keep the streets clear. The temperature dropped below –27°C the day before Christmas Eve in Asikkala, where we were spending the holidays.
Everyone kept saying how rare that winter was, but I don’t think Stuart truly understood it until we moved here. The past four winters have shown how much muddier a typical coastal winter is. Because of the sea, day temperatures rise above 0°C on more than half (sometimes two-thirds) of days in January and February. Snow melts, turns slushy and heavy, mixes with sand and dirt, and becomes cold mud. Not exactly postcard-perfect winter scenery – at least not before the next snowfall briefly covers it all again.
Therefore, even with numb fingers, a frozen-solid car, and limited time outdoors, I love these crisp, sunny, beautiful winter days. You can see the cold in the air and the way light reflects.
–10°C would be perfectly fine, though. –20°C is pushing it.
Day 2: Burning off energy
There is a wonderful Finnish word, mökkihöperö, loosely translated as “going a bit loopy from too much time indoors.” After a weekend mostly stuck inside because of the –20°C temperatures, the girls were definitely going mökkihöperö. And, with all that excess energy, so were Stuart and I.
The easiest solution is a half-day at an indoor playground. Alanna and Kiara are big enough to run around on their own, so I can (albeit with a lot of interruptions) sit and edit photos. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones who had the same thought. Do you have any idea how hard it is to recognize your child among 50+ others, all yelling “Mum!” at regular intervals? Luckily, it’s a big place.
Blue Moment 