Where do the years go? They slip past so quickly, and yet, when I close my eyes, I feel them near — close enough to touch, close enough to step back into. I still hear the tick-tock of my grandparents’ clock, steady and sure, marking time that I never thought would run out. I still…
Tag: family
Next To You
Yesterday was one of those days that start normally but end with your heart in your throat. My elderly dad had a fall. It ended well, thank God, but at the time it was frightening. The ambulance came, kind paramedics checked him over, and in the evening my brother and my husband Peter took him…
Skip with me, nanna!
We were just walking, hand in hand, the way grandmothers and little granddaughters do. The day was mild, the sky wide and blue, and her tiny fingers wrapped around mine with the kind of trust that softens your soul. “Nanna,” she said, looking up with a grin that could melt clouds, “Would you like to…
To my grandson
You made me a nanna —from the very first moment your dad placed you gently in my arms,just a minute old, soft and new,you stole my heart completely.And you’ve held it ever since. You, my little ray of sunshine,with that huge smile that stretches all the way to your shining blue eyes.Eyes that sparkle with…
Storyteller
My phone just gave me another warning: Storage almost full. Again. I take a lot of photos. Not always for an audience, not to curate a perfect life, but to gather crumbs — breadcrumbs in the forest of my life. Each image a small, shining proof that I saw, felt, touched, loved. That moment mattered….
All I Wanted
When I was a little girl and someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I never hesitated. I didn’t dream of empires or careers. I simply said, “a mum”. That was all I ever wanted — to be a mother. Not just in name, but in the deepest, most wholehearted…
Hold on. Hope wins.
Yesterday was Easter Sunday, and there’s something about the dawn of that morning that always moves me. It’s quiet and golden, and the whole world feels like it’s experiencing a sunrise together. The shadows are long, the birds are loud, and it’s Christianity’s greatest day on the calendar — the day that says, “Hold on….
Christmas Wish
Sometimes, life has a way of stopping us in our tracks, urging us to reflect. It’s so easy to get swept up in the holiday buzz, with its endless plans, lists, and preparations. This year, my Christmas tree is surrounded by a growing pile of gifts—a testament to my large and loving family. My kitchen…
Grandfather Clock
There is a particular kind of solace that lives in my family’s old grandfather clock. It hangs on my wall downstairs, keeping the rhythm of time with its steady, gentle “tick-tock.” On days when life feels brittle, when I am frazzled or unsettled, I listen to that sound, and it’s like a lullaby, a tender…
Nineteen- Fiftysix
In the gentle rhythm of 1956 Helsinki, my grandfather, a man of meticulous habits and refined taste, commenced his daily journey. From my grandparents’ snug home on Näkinkuja, he embarked on his morning routine, preparing carefully for the day ahead. Then a vibrant 15-year-old, my mum filled their home with her youthful exuberance, and it…
Apples of Gold 