Roughly translating to "this here and that there" or "this and that", Swedish style. (I have no idea if that's a phrase a Swedish person would ever employ.)
~ I had such high hopes for really leaping back into blogging with both feet, but instagram is so lovely and quick and mostly covers the bases. I often have the "I should write about that!" inspirations, but they seldom stick with me long enough to find time at the computer. This is all the more challenging because we've reached kids' ages at which they are required to do homework on the computer, which means I can't use the laptop at my leisure. I'm not sure how this is going to play out as they get older and their work loads get more intense. {grumble grumble}
~ One of the most frequent comments we received last year, as people would learn of our upcoming year in Sweden, was along the lines of, "Sweden?! Brrrr! It must be freezing there!" and I admit I would have guessed the same. It IS freezing and fully dark and very much arctic in some of the northern parts of Sweden. What I hadn't realized is that Sweden is really large, north to south, and Stockholm is down here about three quarters of the way south, with some pretty mild temps (by my midwesterner standards). I tracked the weather last winter, from NE, and noticed that the average daily temps were quite similar to what we were experiencing, so I wasn't too worried... what I hadn't paid attention to was that the lows were basically the same as the highs here in Sweden. In the midwest, we're used to BIG swings in temps each day. You wake up at 25F, but know that during the day the temp will rise by 20 degrees, some days by 40! Here in Stockholm, you wake up at 31F, and you may just sit there at 31 all. day. long. Or the temp may shift up a degree or two. Or down. Many days the temperature at breakfast ends up being the high for the day with a slight shift downward. I had some theories on why the constant temperatures, and the resident professor gave me some more. It's likely a combination of the surrounding ocean, and, even more so, the short days that result in the sun never getting high enough in the sky to do any real warming. Nathaniel can explain in more detail sometime if you care to ask. Given that NE has had near-record lows this winter, and Stockholm has, according to the locals, had a pretty mild winter, we've actually had a pretty easy go of things. That said, we have our fingers crossed for a couple more pretty snowfalls before winter retreats. We have sleds that need more action!
~ Despite all that jazz about how mild the weather has been, I am SO GRATEFUL that I invested in really good coats and boots for the whole family. When it's cold, it's cold all day. And it's wet a lot. I can't count the number of mornings, as we tromp through snow, or rain, or huge puddles of slushy muck, I've internally thanked my contact at the embassy for saying, "You'll want to get seriously rain PROOF boots and coats". I'm a sale shopper, and always looking for a deal. You have to be with five kids! I actually had off-brand rainboots in my amazon cart for a few days as I debated whether to spend the money on the Bogs and Sorels or save some cash... but a handful of "the bottoms split, so my kids' feet were soggy" reviews convinced me to go big. I couldn't be happier. (I did score the name brand gear on end of season sale, which helped.) In Lincoln, we don't even bother with rain boots; I usually just get cheap Target snow boots for the winter, because they wear them a handful of times to play in the snow. The walk to school is short and we drive everywhere else. Here, we're out there in the weather every day, and they're playing outside at recess! Knowing that they're rated to super cold temps, and not worrying that their boot soles might split is a huge weight off. And I can only imagine what I'd spend to replace them if they did wear through! Knocking on wood right now that I don't have to find out. (Also, I smile to think of the years and years of great hand-me-down coats and boots Rachel has to look forward to.)
~ I feel like we've reached a point of such routine that Stockholm feels pretty mundane, day in day out. School, errands, parks (albeit super cool parks). It's nice not to feel constantly "on", but has allowed me to get a little lazy and want to just rest in the routine. Now that we've passed our halfway, I can feel the sense of "not having done enough" creeping in. I need to put together a list of the places we still want to see, both in Stockholm and nearby, and start giving them dates on our calendar. In addition to the museums and maybe day trips, we have a few exciting bigger things coming up as well - a couple visitors, a trip to Rome! I have a feeling that as the winter weather turns to spring, the time is going to move faster and faster and before we know it we'll be in the final few weeks of prepping to come home.
~ Meanwhile, life keeps rolling on without us back home. I hear about the upcoming new student orientation at Pius that Marianne is missing (I'm in touch with the school, don't worry!), and all the 8th grade graduation fun. One of her best friends at home has been wonderful about helping her organize her page for the 8th grade yearbook even though she's not there this year. I also saw a notice about Kindergarten preview in a week or so and it hit me harder than I'd have anticipated - sadness, that is, over Rachel missing it. I woke up one morning so anxious for her. I was thinking about how nervous she gets about using the bathroom without someone with her, and how she'll have to use the bathroom at school next year without us so had better get used to it... then realized that she won't necessarily even know where the bathroom is! She's missing the orientation day for that, and what if she's never even been in her classroom and I'm leaving her at school for her first day ever?! I know, I know. I talked myself down quickly enough. I'll have to reach out to one of the kindergarten teachers and see about meeting at the school for a quick tour and introduction and I'm sure she'll be a rock star, but these are the little moments of panic that pop up out of nowhere. (Can you tell she's the baby?! The fact that there's any chance that she's made it to 5 years old and still can manage to almost always convince someone to accompany her to the restroom? Ha!)
I have a million more thoughts to add, but this has taken me all day and it's time for bed. Till next time, friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment