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…
Tag: Life goes on
My Pink Ribbon Day
Despite the overwhelming fatigue from tending to my elderly parents in the past weeks, I found myself wide awake in the early morning hours today. Melbourne was lit with flashes of lightning as a rapid rainband swept through, accompanied by sporadic thunderstorms. Attempting to dismiss the vivid flashes behind my curtains, I struggled to return…
Good Morning Twenty Twenty-Four
I find myself waking up, or should I say, grappling to rouse myself into a new year. It’s a struggle between the allure of sweet dreamland, which persistently tugs me back, and the desire to rise and savour the very first chai of twenty twenty-four. Although the temptation to slip back into a deeper sleep…
Life is Short
Have you ever received news that left you wandering aimlessly, with your mind so consumed by thoughts that, despite your desire to be productive, you find yourself unable to accomplish anything? Today happens to be one of those days for me. This year, the shortness and unpredictability of human life have become so intimately intertwined…
I’m learning to Dance in the Rain
Life is a continuous learning experience. One of the most interesting questions I like to ask elderly people is what life lessons they have learned. It’s also a question I often ask myself. When people talk about shopping in Finland, they ask each other how much stuck to them along the way. I love this…
The Great Unknown
Some years ago now, as I was getting ready for yet another day, a breakfast television interview caught my attention. Lisa Marie Presley was discussing her relationship with music, her fight with drug addiction and her fondest memories of her father, the music icon Elvis Presley. Since Lisa Marie was born around the same time…
Changing Seasons
The seasons come and the seasons change. Time keeps rolling on. The journey of life sometimes feels long, but it is not endless. The last days of summer, of early life and youth are behind me now, they are but a distant memory. During my summer days, I felt fearless, spontaneous, dynamic, and self-confident. I…
Fabric of Life
When you think about the fabric of your life lived so far, what colour threads do you see? Which are the dominant colours? What patterns are evident in your tapestry? If every experience is a stitch in the intricately woven fabric of your life, then how have you been stitched together by the fibres of…
The Fire
Written by Jaana Jokinen, told by my maternal grandmother Hilja Maria 13th March 1913 in Joroinen, Finland It was a cold, early spring day in Northern Savonia, in the Eastern part of Finland, where my family lived. Joroinen is often called the “Paris of the Savonia” because in the 1700s the noblemen mainly spoke French….
Interlude
This year I have found myself in circumstances, I wouldn’t wish on anybody. Yet, it’s those situations that have taught me a great deal, given me pause and caused me to stop and think. Earlier in the year I was hospitalised after contracting Covid. There are a couple of ways to look at the same…
Apples of Gold 