Allow me to share a little secret with you. Every morning, without fail, I begin my day with a steaming cup of Masala Chai tea, lovingly made and brought to my bedside by my husband, Peter. It is one of the small but deeply cherished pleasures of my life. This is no ordinary cup of…
Learning to Dance in the Rain
Life is a continuous learning experience. One of the questions I most enjoy asking older people is what life lessons they have learned along the way. It is also a question I return to often in my own heart. In Finland, when people talk about shopping, they sometimes jokingly ask each other how much “stuck”…
I Still Call Australia Home
Once again, it came over me with full force, like a bolt out of the blue. At the moment, we have Peter’s Finnish relatives staying with us on their very first visit to Australia. It has been such a joy to show them places that have become part of our story here. We have travelled…
The Great Unknown
Some years ago, while getting ready for what seemed like just another ordinary day, a breakfast television interview caught my attention. Lisa Marie Presley was speaking about music, her struggle with addiction, and the memories she carried of her father, Elvis Presley. Because Lisa Marie was born around the same time as I was, and…
White Christmas
I have only ever had one white Christmas as an adult, and it was truly special. My family and I were living in a small country town in eastern Finland, just 60 kilometres from the Russian border, called Savitaipale. This is where my paternal grandfather’s side of the family is from. The town is very…
Childhood Home
Written by Jaana M. H. JokinenTold by my mother, Mirja AnneliSeptember 1949, Kallio, Helsinki, Finland Slowly but surely, the days were growing colder and darker. School had started again, and autumn had arrived. I have always been a summer person, so even as an eight-year-old, I was not at all pleased by the changing season….
Changing Seasons
The seasons come and the seasons change. Time keeps moving, steady and unrelenting. Life can feel long when we are walking through it, yet deep down we know it is not endless. The last days of summer, of youth, of early strength and lightness, are behind me now. They belong to another chapter, another self,…
Homesickness
I was struck by a feeling of homesickness this afternoon. Most of the time, I move through my life without feeling it too sharply, but every now and then it comes over me with such force that it stops me in my tracks. Being Finnish-Australian, I try to weave small threads of Finland into my…
Fabric of Life
When you look at the fabric of your life so far, what colours do you see woven through it? Which shades have been the most dominant? What patterns have emerged in the tapestry of your days? If every experience has been a stitch in the intricate fabric of your life, then how have you been…
The Fire
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…
Apples of Gold 