When I was born, I’ve been told, my father was so glad, that a little girl had been born to him, he held me in his loving hands. My father took care of me, always so tenderly. He was there to teach, to comfort and to always watch over me. My father’s love for me…
Tag: Nostalgia
Baking with Grandma
When you take a tray of freshly baked cinnamon rolls out of the oven, the beautiful smell of cardamom is enough to take any Finnish person back to happy memories of their childhood, of grandma’s kitchen or of having a coffee with a friend. It is for me! I think some of my fondest memories…
One Day in September
The morning after arriving in Australia from Finland, my family left for a walk from our new home in the migrant Midway hostel in Maribyrnong. I guess we wanted to discover this strange new country we had landed in. We walked along the side of the road, like ducklings flowing their mother. We must have…
I Found It!
When my brother and I were children, we loved playing “hot and cold”. One of us would hide a small object and the other would be the hunter who would try to find it. The closer the hunter got to the object, the more the other person would call “hotter, hotter!”… and finally: “now it’s…
Bedtime Story
When I was a little girl — around six years old — living in Helsinki, Finland, one of my mum’s dearest friends came over for supper. Eila lived in the same neighbourhood and had known our family even before I was born. She was one of those rare, lifelong friends who remain close, no matter…
Timeless Treasures
When I was a little girl and lived in Finland, I had a special friend. Her name was Tiina. My friend and I lived a few hundred metres from each other and were in the same class at school. A lot of the time, she almost lived at my place, only going home to sleep….
Wood-smoke and Cinnamon
The natural beauty of Finland is breathtaking, and autumn is no exception! Summer ends with an explosion of autumn colours. The forests turn to various shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown, or maybe I should describe them as amber, auburn, russet, and crimson. I am a lover of autumn, of earthy colours and golden…
Blue and White
I was 11 years old when my family migrated from Finland to Australia. At the time I had very little understanding of the magnitude of what it really meant. I think I was more excited about going on a plane than anything else, because I had never flown before. Yet I was acutely aware how…
Time Travelling
I caught myself daydreaming today. I had traveled back to the days of my grandma and the happy days of my childhood. The Finnish word “mummi” (which means grandma) is always connected to the word “happiness” in my thoughts. Here I was ringing her doorbell, the type you twist, instead of press. I didn’t have…
Christmas 1939
Written by Jaana Jokinen, told by my father Matti Samuli 30th November 1939 “All aboard!” The conductor’s booming cry drew my mum to her feet. “The train is leaving, let’s go!” I clapped my hands enthusiastically. I could hardly contain my excitement. Even though I was barely four years old, I had travelled quite a…
Apples of Gold 