Maybe it was the air, its soft touch on my cheek. Maybe the light, the morning sun shining from a hazy blue sky? Maybe it was the smell of damp grass, that made me think of him. How long has it been since I last saw him? A year? No, it must be longer, but …
Every weekday afternoon I go and meet our son when he arrives on the kindergarten bus. It has only been a few weeks but I feel like I already know the life happening on that street corner. My new routine has been added to this piece of city, and like an observer I stand there …
Before my cataract surgery, was it not for my previous experience of seeing, I would have been completely lost as to what the world looked like. I spent my days imagining a third dimension in a 2D world with a few mishaps here and there, like poring water outside the glass. So the first thing …
Being a Swedish husband and dad taking care of a two year old son in a little town in Kyushu, Japan, is as meaningful and happy a life as I could imagine. Sure, an everyday life of caring for a son and home from morning to bedtime has its challenging aspects, some a bit more …
I never thought that having a little toddler at home would be to have a teacher giving me lessons in metaphysics, or a zen monk introducing a koan to me. That is one of the things I appreciate most about being a father, the constant need to challenge habits and old patterns of thought which …
In Japan, Swedish dental care is famous. Almost anyone in the dental profession I have met, hearing that I am from Sweden, comments on the good dental health in Sweden and the excellence of Swedish dental health care. Swedish dental products are on display in the super market. Looking at the image of Sweden that …
Tonight my son fell asleep lying on my chest; I cannot imagine anything more beautiful. His whole existence is beautiful – the pure innocence of a child. The trust he puts in us without even thinking about it – I was lying in bed thinking of what I possibly could have done to deserve it, to …
A new year always puts a perspective on time, I feel. The breaking point that a new year signifies is both happiness and anxiety, hope and regret, new beginnings and old ends. Looking back at the past year, looking forward to the one coming up, thinking about all that we have experienced, have not done, …
Since becoming a father I have not had the time to work so much on my own art and poetry. Well that was a bit of an understatement – I have been too busy nursing our son, taking care of the house, moving from Tokyo, trying to find some daily time to study Japanese, that …
Having a baby is being a student of human emotions. Every day I live in my son’s sea of feelings ranging from anger to absolute joy and excitement. It never ceases to amaze me how he can angrily bite on my finger one second, and hug me like a koala bear the next, not letting …
It is Saturday evening and I am sitting on the floor just behind a mosquito net in front of an open veranda door. My wife and son are sleeping and I have just finished the dishes, having cleaned the bathroom after a long bath. It is dark ouside, although I can discern a faint glow …
I wonder if Japanese houses are built with cherry blossom in mind. Cherry blossom, sakura, one of the quintessential symbols of Japan, capturing the frailty of existence while celebrating life in the most exquisite way. During a few short weeks every year, the sakura season arguably exhibits unparalleled beauty in nature; in some ways I …