Somero Sunset

After the events of Saturday I have spent the last two days enjoying the fact that I am still alive.  I have been surrounded by wonderful friends and neighbours since I got home from hospital and every time I have got up from the sofa I have remembered to say a silent thank you for the fact I can still walk.

In addition we were blessed with this beautiful sunset yesterday evening here in Somero. Wishing you all a peaceful night.

Life is Short, Live it!

Yesterday morning I posted a picture on my Facebook wall which started "Life is Short, Live it!"

I can't remember how many times I have discussed with friends how unpredictable and fragile life is. But as if I needed reminding of my own words, just two hours after I posted the picture, I found myself in a car crash which could very easily have ended both my own life and those of the people in the other car.

It was a full on impact at 60 kilometres per hour, and moments after it happened I found myself trapped in a car which was smoking and wondering whether it was going to explode.

The angels must have been protecting us though, because after a day in hospital, I am now back home with nothing more than a sore knee, a bruised arm and a bashed up face. My face hurt so much yesterday that I was convinced something was broken, but in fact I have nothing more than bruises and a split lip, and the occupants of the other car are fine too.

Both cars are a write off, but I have never been so grateful as I am this morning that I can still walk, dance, swim and do all the other things I enjoy in life. Even more than that, I thanked God (literally) that none of my children were in the car with me at the time, as things could have been very different had I not been alone.

This kind of brush with death inevitably makes you think about what matters. I now know which people came to mind at what could have been my last moment alive and also who I wanted with me when  it was all over.

I also known that I was born to write, because even though I could hardly talk after the collision, I still remembered to make sure one of the paramedics took my camera and got photos of what was going on, so that I could post this story on the blog!

Not pretty, but alive!

Most of all I have been very humbled by all the good wishes, phone calls and messages I have received and also the warmth and love of my children and my friend Samuli who stayed with me all day at the hospital. Thank you everyone. That's all I can say.

So I will end this post as I began it, because never a truer word was spoken. You literally never know what is round the corner. But what we do know is that Life is short....so live it!!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Just had to post this picture which sums up the title of this post exactly. Wishing you all a weekend full of good things.

The Positivity Bug

I haven't forgotten what I said yesterday. I am planning to meet someone random in Somero and interview them...and I am leaving that person's identity up to destiny.

But before doing that, this morning I just wanted to post a little message about positivity. The more life experience I get, the more I become aware that having a positive attitude, regardless of what it is about, has a huge effect on others. If you can grab hold of some positivity from somewhere...you will soon find that it starts to affect other people that you meet. Like the flu virus, except in a good way.

Our garden squirrels never fail to make me smile

On one hand I have had a bit of a tough week. On the other, I have been fortunate to come into contact with several highly positive people. And the result is that they have managed to turn a difficult week into a good one.

The result of that was for me to start feeling better, and therefore have the desire to visit a good friend of mine who desperately needed cheering up. We ended up laughing through the tears, and now my bet is that she may well do the same for someone else.

In this post I would like to mention some people speciafically. Päivi Morton is a close friend I met around eight years ago in the UK. She is bubbling at the moment about a new project she is involved with, and  her enthusiasm and excitement has affected everyone who has heard about it. Her lovely posts on my Facebook wall recently have cheered up my day every time because she is clearly loving life at the moment and full of new ideas as to how to live it.

Rob Wood, Jill Anderson and Michael Davidson are three of my salsa friends. Even though we meet in person very rarely, all three of them not only exude a determination to make the most of life, but they also invest an enormous amount in passing this feeling on to others. They have a positive effect on everyone they come into contact with and I can't thank them for that enough. They have no idea how many times a message (or Jill your postcard, thank you) have been the one thing that has made me smile that day. Rob was also officially the first person to make me laugh after my ex husband left last year.

Anita Hallapelto is also someone whom I need to thank just for being her. Anita runs a fifties boutique here in Somero (Muotiputikki Helmi). Anyone who knows her, also knows that when you go into her shop, it is not just about the clothes. It is about spending time with someone who is so happy to be alive that she makes you feel like smiling, even on a day of tears. She has been an angel to me recently and her positivity truly is infectious.

Then a special mention to Joy Musembi in Kenya, whose heart is so full of love and gratitude for life that she lights up the day of everyone she comes into contact with. This girl was born with a positive heart and will still be giving encouragement to others as she draws her last breath.

And lastly the person who made me think of writing this post. Abayomi Baiyere is originally from Nigeria but now lives in Turku. We met for the first time yesterday and although I only heard a little of his story, his positive attitude and courage to pursue his dreams left me feeling inspired and positive myself. Not to mention that smile, which could light up a room.

So you see, positivity is catching. Paivi, Rob, Jill, Michael, Anita, Joy and Abayomi all have the positivity bug in a big way - and it is because of them I have also caught it this week. THANK YOU my friends, old and new.

As Rob said to me recently..... Live Simply. Dream Big. Be Grateful. Give Love. Laugh Lots.
Exactly. Thanks Rob. Will do.

Do you Believe in Destiny?

Do you believe in destiny?  It's an interesting question which can provoke quite strong reactions in people. Some of my own friends believe in destiny and others absolutely do not. Neither of my parents did. Personally, I like to think that there is some kind of destiny out there. Because if there is, then even on the bad days you can tell yourself that it is just one step further along the path to where you are eventually supposed to be.

Many times in my life I have found myself being in exactly the right place at the right time. I have "accidentally" met someone who has gone on to have a huge impact on my life, or bumped into a stranger who has got me thinking about a totally new project. Is that destiny or is it just luck?

Last Sunday I was feeling a little alone. I decided to go on a long walk (from Esakallio to Hovimäki) with my good friend Ella. The walk was a nice one through the forest, but very badly signposted in some places. At one point there were three paths in front of us and we had no idea whicn one we should take. There was a house close by so we decided to knock on the door to see if the people living there could tell us which way to go. As soon as I walked into the garden I realised that I actually knew where I was. It was the house of my good friends Marja-Leena and Kari (one of those few couples who convince me that lifelong love IS possible). They invited us in for a drink and then we spent a lovely half an hour laughing while Ella's dog went chasing sticks and swimming in the lake. All of a sudden the day was transofrmed into one where I was surrounded by friends and didn't feel alone anymore. On a route that was 8.5 kilometres long, was that luck? Or was that destiny...leading me to somewhere I was guarnateed to feel better? I like to think it was the former.

So- over the next 24 hours I thought I would invite destiny to decide on the next post. I will see who she brings to me. I am going to sit at one of the cafes in Somero and approach a complete stranger to interview for the blog.

I have no idea who it will be, or what his or her story will be, but I am in the mood for doing something a little unpredictable and seeing what destiny brings to my door.

So watch this space.....

Wolverine Street

It's eight in the evening and it's been a busy day for everyone in the family. Our swimming pool is open again after being closed for the summer (because Finns swim in lakes during the summer) and this afternoon Cameron and I took advantage of the pool. I am not the world's greatest swimmer, but I managed a kilometre today, which I was proud of. Collapsing in the sauna afterwards was one of the best feelings I have had for a long time.

Just now I went for a walk down our street, Ahmatie....(Wolverine Street in English...I love that). I walked to the other end of the street barefoot. Just because I could. In a few weeks we will all be moaning about the dark evenings and the cold weather and the slush before the snow arrives. So I am determined to soak up every last drop of the summer.

For now, there is a warm breeze outside, the leaves are all glistening as the sun shines through them, birds are fluttering all over the place and the hedgehogs are getting ready for their evening stroll. There are still children playing in the park behind our house. It still sounds like summer.

In our house we are all eating (meat-free) pasta bolognese and Lucie is playing one of my favourite songs ever (Shine on Me by the Praise Cats in case you are interested). As one of my good friends wrote on my Facebook Wall a few days ago...."Life may not be the party we hoped for. But while we're here we should dance."

A Funny Kind of Day

For lots of Finns, today has been a day full of all sorts of emotions. The schools reopened again after the long summer holidays and that of course means lots of things.

Some children were starting school for the first time, some were moving up to the next school stage and some were entering their last years.

In our family Cameron is starting his last year at Joensuun Koulu (lower school) and Lucie is entering her last year of lukio (sixth form college), so this year are important ones for them too.

Of course the beginning of school is also, for Finns, one of the first signs of the end of summer. And not many of us like that. We all try to live in denial about it, but the rainy weather this morning added to the feeling that autumn is definitely on its way. The strawberry kiosk in Somero also closed down this weekend until next summer. It makes me feel quite sad to see it gone from the centre of town!

It has been a fabulous summer though, with lots of sunshine and hot weather, and we are promised a beautiful autumn ahead. Lets hope the forecasters are right this time.  At least in this country we have the benefit of four distinct seasons that are all very different from each other, and many parts of the country are truly stunning when all the leaves turn to gold and orange and brown.

The picture above was the sky in Somero on Saturday evening. It was only there for a few minutes but I was lucky to be out with the camera at the right time.

I'm off to bed now, with the sound of heavy rain beating down on the roof. I find something very romantic about that. Sleep well everyone.

Hope

Some days we wake up, remember to be feel grateful to be alive and have no trouble believing that anything is possible. Those days are good ones.

But the more I speak to people, the more I hear that most of us also have those days where none of that is the case. It's hard to find the motivation for anything and hard to believe that certain problems will ever be reseolved. I know, because for me today is one of those days.

I don't have a quick solution to this. I wish I did. The problem with the healing power of time is that it takes just that...time. And you can't make it go any quicker, even when you want to.

Instead, I thought I would post one of my favourite pictures of this summer.  It's for anyone reading this who is feeling the same way I am feeling today. I hope it gives you just a little bit of inspiration to believe that however tough things are today, there are surely better days waiting just around the corner. It's the belief I am clinging on to right now, and I know that I am not alone.