When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
The sea is finally free of ice, although not many boats have braved the cold waters yet.
With sun reflecting from the beautiful calm waters, I occassionally wonder if we shoild get a boat of our own.
Luckily these moments of insanity do not last long.
Our house is in a nice suburb just next to the seashore and several small forests. Therefore, there are nice walking, cycling, and adventuring routes all around us.
Now it just needs to stop raining.
The girls got new bicycles from Santa. They were delivered today amid huge excitement. Six gears!
In addition to just being great fun, the return of bicycle season adds volumes to girls’ independence. We have strict boundaries on how far they can go without adults or special permission – but even a distance of a kilometer or two is much faster on a bicycle.
Easier distance means more play, more friends, and more adventures, especially with the extended daylight hours.
For Stuart and me, it means fewer calls begging for a lift home.
I adore the Finnish tradition of Easter blessings (virpominen). It is such a joyful thing to do. I firmy believe one should make an effort, which is why we take care with both decorating the willow branches, and dressing up as traditional witches. These witches then go from house to house, blessing the home and handing over a decorated branch in exchange for chocolate eggs or other candy.
In addition to the nearest neighbors, in Finland you can still ring any doorbell and ask for permission to bless the house. A lot of the people in “our route” we only see this for one time a year. But naturally, after doing this a few years, we favor the houses where people have been especially excited to see us.
We clearly left a bit late this year, as almost every house commented they were already worried we would not come at all.
Girls’ birthday always ends up being multi-day affair: the celebration during the actual day with immediate family, followed by family birthday with exetended family, and last (but not least) the party with friends.
The good thing about twins is that you do this once a year.
It’s been several weeks of above 0°C temperatures, and the snow is gone – except for the random piles covered in sand and pebbles that typically only melt at around midsummer (or at least it feels that way) and the sea ice. Plenty of ice left.
The sun was shining brightly and the neighborhood forest felt like spring. It is still early in the year and the nature seems unsure whether it can trust the warmth. There are no early flowers or green shoots in the trees yet. The first shoots of grass are rising from the forest moss.
Most often, when I go to the office, I take the metro. I live almost at the end of the line, so even on the busiest of mornings, I can get a window seat, close my eyes, and listen to my audiobook.
Almost without exception, I come home after rush hour has passed. Rarely more than a handfull of people get off at my stop. I get the long escalator all to myself.
One of these days I will get off one station before, as that apparently has the longest escalator in Finland. So far, I have never prioritized the experience over getting home faster.
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.
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.
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.
Blue Moment 