What I did on my Summer Vacation

 If you didn’t know, I was able to take 6 weeks off this summer, combining Swedish parental leave with some vacation time.  I haven’t had 6 weeks off in awhile – maybe 2002?  So when my boss “highly recommended” that I take the time, I figured out a way.  (It was really fun for me when a US coworker emailed me halfway through, and when he saw my out-of-office email that I wouldn’t be back for 3 weeks he was shocked.  He didn’t realize that the message had already been up for 3 weeks!)

The perils of teaching your child about nature

Calvin helping me pick blueberries

The nature trails/forest around our house is full of berries and it is really fun to walk along the paths and snack as you go.  I decided, being the nature-loving mom I am, to take Calvin on a fun blueberry picking extravaganza.  I had visions of strolling along the forest path and showing him the joys of picking berries.  He loves picking the black currants in our backyard and successfully picked some without eating them all, so I figured we could actually do well on this mission.  We might even pick enough for blueberry pancakes tomorrow!

It turns out that Calvin was more interested in

Going "Full Swedish" = "Getting awesome"

Lately, we have been using the term "Full Swedish" or asking, "Should we go 'Full Swedish'?"  Basically, that question or statement means that we are doing things the local way.  For instance, Jon and I walked into our local, beautiful, nature-ish swimming pool and there was a sign (in Swedish) that said,

"Note: Parents, all children must wear bathing suits in the small and large pools for health."

Why is that written in bold letters on a white board as soon as you enter the pool?

The Dwyers invade the Capital of Scandinavia

Stockholm!   So many ideas and so many things to say.

How to begin??? hummm…..with the delightful Calvin? The beautiful Lisa? The wonderful Jonathan? Or even the friendly Bessie? All good beginnings. They are tremendous hosts and were happy to share the best of their new city.   Or do I begin with all of the things that we had heard about Sweden before we left America?  That is it full of tall blond people who love to drink? That it is a clean, nearly sterile place? That Swedes are not very friendly? That all Swedes speak English? That it is very expensive?

Road Trip to Jönköping

The Swedish countryside is amazingly beautiful and surprisingly vibrant.  It is almost as if all of the plants and animals put on their best game faces to absorb as much sunlight as possible during the summer.  The grass and trees are this super rich green color and the sky is brilliant blue.  The clouds seem to be that fluffy cotton type that hangs so low you would think you could reach out and grab one. Summer in Sweden is truly remarkable and it makes bearing the long, cold, dark winter worth every minute.