Written by Jaana M. H. JokinenTold by my grandmother, Hilja MariaMarch 1913, Joroinen, Finland It was a cold early spring day in Joroinen, in Northern Savonia in the eastern part of Finland, where my family lived. Joroinen is often called the “Paris of Savonia”, because in the 1700s the noblemen there mainly spoke French. Even…
Category: Past generations
This Moment
I rose before the sun this morning and slipped out the door while the world was still half asleep. The birds were already awake, singing their bright hopeful songs into the dawn, sounding far more cheerful than I felt inside. Mum was having surgery today, and I was going to spend the day with dad,…
Afternoon Tea
I recently had my grandson stay for a couple of nights during the school holidays, and as always, the house seemed changed by his presence. It felt fuller somehow — livelier, warmer, threaded through with movement, laughter, questions, and that particular energy young people carry with them so naturally. And then, almost as soon as…
Music and Dance
As a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift, my daughter took me last night to an evening of candlelight, music, and dance. It was one of those gifts that reaches far beyond the moment itself. My tired soul received it with gratitude and drank it in slowly, as though it had been thirsty for beauty for a…
My Son’s Wedding
My grandma taught me the love of proverbs, quotes, and sayings and used them often in her everyday speech. She would come up with all sorts, from funny to the serious, but every one of them was thought provoking. I remember one she had about weddings. She said: “For the couple, weddings are full of…
My Dad, My Hero
I was told that when I came into this world, my father was especially glad that the baby placed into his arms was a little girl. I have often pictured that moment in my mind — my father looking down at me with love already rising in him, holding me carefully in his hands as…
Karelian Weddings
My son is getting married the day after tomorrow. Our family is living in that tender space just before a wedding, where joy, excitement and nervous butterflies all seem to breathe side by side. There is laughter, last-minute preparations, quiet emotion, and that sense that something beautiful is almost here. And what a joy it…
Baking with Grandma
There are certain smells that do far more than drift through a house. They open doors to the past. They loosen memories that have been sitting quietly in the heart for years. For me, the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, rich with butter and cardamom, does exactly that. It carries me straight back to…
Time Travelling
I caught myself daydreaming today, though it felt like much more than that. In my mind, I had travelled back to the happy days of my childhood, back to my grandma’s house, back to everything that felt safe and warm and deeply loved. The Finnish word mummi has never simply meant grandmother to me. In…
Christmas 1939
Written by Jaana M. H. JokinenTold by my father, Matti Samuli30th November 1939, Helsinki, Finland “All aboard!” The conductor’s booming cry drew my mother to her feet. “The train is leaving, let’s go!” I clapped my hands in delight. I could hardly contain my excitement. Though I was barely four years old, I had already…
Apples of Gold 