How our son has grown during our time in Sweden, and not just in size – I think we all felt it, his parents as well as his grandparents. He has become even more independent and also fully embraced a life where the spoken language is Swedish. Thinking about the years my son and I […]
It has been four years since the mask wearing days started, and thus time for a pandemic year review. Or maybe I should call it a post-pandemic review. The pandemic is supposed to be over, the covid cases are still sometimes reported but little by little life has started to go back to the way
When we arrived in Sweden it was already time to prepare for Christmas. Almost as soon as we had settled in, my son wanted to go by himself with grandmother and grandfather to buy a Christmas tree. When they came back they had picked out the most beautiful pine tree and we decorated it with
What a joy to arrive in Sweden just before Christmas and be welcomed by not only farmor and farfar, granny and grandpa, but also by snow and some proper winter. It has been a wonderful couple of weeks we have spent in Sweden, and I plan to share some impressions in the next few blog posts
Ever since we last autumn started to talk about going to Sweden this winter to visit farmor and farfar, grandma and grandad, my son has been interested to know more about Sweden and especially where Sweden is and why it is always dark at our place and bright day is Sweden when we are doing
We have been very fortunate not to have any very serious medical situations with our son. Still, the most difficult and painful part of being a dad I find, is seeing him sick and in discomfort. I cannot count the number of times he has fallen ill with milder or more sever colds and ailments
Our son loves bread. Any chance he has he wants to eat bread, if possible with a slice of cheese (but no butter, he does not like butter). When I ask him what he wants for snacks to bring to kindergarten, he often says bread and banana. His love of bread has become quite well
I try to notice and find happiness in the small things. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is easier to overlook the little joys and only see the little misfortunes. And sometimes there is a small small piece of beauty that shines stronger than the midday sun on a hot summer’s day. Lately, I have
In our little garden we have a Japanese maple tree, or momiji as it is called in Japanese. It is my favorite tree, I adore the small star shaped leaves that shift from green to orange to the most intense shade of red in autumn. Coming home after having picked up my son from the
When our son was born he got a kimono from my wife’s aunt. It is a kimono that is often used when a family goes to a shrine in November to celebrate their son’s health and well being (a Japanese rite of passage called shichi-go-san named after the age seven-five-three when children are celebrated like this, boys
I have probably said it many times already on this blog, but I cannot keep myself from saying it again – I just love autumn in Japan. The colors, the skies, the way the wind feels on the skin, the sun shining at an angle, shining trough the leaves making them sparkle in all shades
Our son’s kindergarten is situated a little way up a mountainside. It is close to nature, a place to experience play, a place to run around as much as little legs can handle, and freedom to discover who you are. My son loves running around, and sine he started kindergarten I have also created new