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…
Tag: family
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…
One Day in September
The morning after arriving in Australia from Finland, my family went for a walk from our new home at the migrant Midway hostel in Maribyrnong. I suppose we wanted to see this strange new country we had landed in, to step out into it for ourselves and try to make some sense of where life…
Blue and White
I was eleven when my family left Finland and migrated to Australia. At that age, I could not possibly grasp the full weight of what was happening. To me, the biggest wonder was that I was about to fly on an aeroplane for the very first time. There was excitement in that, the kind only…
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…
Sunrise Sunset
Is your favourite season spring — the time of rebirth, daffodils and new beginnings?Or do you prefer summer fields laden with golden flowers, humming bees darting through warm air? Perhaps you are like me and love the shorter, cooler days of autumn, when the trees put on their final, breathtaking display of colour.And yet… isn’t…
Apples of Gold 