May 19th

Maybe at times I am a bit harsh on the kids. I tell Lili if she really has nothing to say than she just shouldn’t bother. She can talk a lot of nonsense especially when she is desperate to make conversation. Jen and I can get carried away on our own. At dinner for instance it can be boring to someone who doesn’t share our insight into contemporary European politics. It is unfair also because we all can have moment of talking nonsense, or not even moments but regular sessions and periods. Like I do. Besides, often the main attempt from her part is to make conversation. (of course there is the other motivation of intending to be funny without quite understanding that to be funny means being clever at it, not an idiot).

Today we were most intrigued however by Lili’s choice of topic of conversation. She decided to tell us about the discussion they have had after school while playing outside. She couldn’t remember how but they ended up discussing God and comparing creationist, evolution and gaia theories. Apparently in her class most kids are into creationist theories, the kind of God did it all and keeps it moving. Lili it seems didn’t even take an agnostic point of view but outright argued that people evolved from monkeys and it was kind of a random process. She seemed to have been intrigued by the gaia theory, planet earth is a living organism.

It was wonderful to hear how they have managed to have a – at times - heated discussion without finding it too stressful and backing themselves into a corner. Once they bored talking, they just got on with other stuff of life. Things to learn from our kids.

In the meantime , while Lili was storytelling, Ernest has managed to eat some of his food but mostly fooled around with it. At times he would grab a handful of rice and staff it in his face regardless how much would actually fit in his mouth then shake the left out rice off his hand wiping the remains on his clothes. He managed to do all this without grabbing his glass and pouring its contents intentionally in his plate or on the floor. There is a cognitive gap between our children. It is possibly age related though.

May 8th

No photo blog. Didnt go to the zoo today. I must have lost my touch of Scottishness: The all day rain bothered me, didn’t like the ida of spending too much time outside. So we were at home, the highlight of the day was probably a pillow fight then a fry up for lunch and an afternoon snooze. Liliom was bored beyond measures. She seems to have forgotten how to think.

In the evening I had a go at her which turned into talking about leaving. She is sad to leave for leaving her friends here behind. There were tears, in numbers. Jens asked her if she was scared of something going back to Finland to which Lili answered in the most matter of fact take no nonsense voice ‘what should I be afraid of?’ kind of are you mad tone in her voice.

We do have to make sure we are better at keeping touch this time around with friends here, at least her friends. Unlike with the ones in Oulu, although we knew we were coming back there. We know at most we will come to Szeged for visits. Altough I must have reminded her that while I spent the first 20 years of my life living in the same flat going to a total of 2 diferent schools and a daycare for 12 years hanging out with the same 2 sets of people through these institutions and another set through my parents’ friends, with not one I keep in touch today and call my friend. So potentially there is a possibility that moving about leaving people behind is not that big of a deal.

However, we did realise this morning that while w ehave planned to regularly skype back to Oulu, we never really did and it was really stupid. Oh well
Another small matter , the car. I mentioned when buyin a car here 3 things one needs to do;

a, get a mechanical check to make sure it is the car that is says on the papers
b, get an insurance for the car under the name of the new owner
c, go to the local gov. administration office to change the owner’s name on the car’s papers.

Logic says that one should do a, c, b,
At a, in person and at c, on the website plus various help you get trhought this websites say to do a, b, c,
The car insurance people tell you to do a, c, b,

Suggestions?

It’s interesting that in real life pillow fights rarely ever happens that the pillows burst and there is feather everywhere.

26 December

I feel I perhaps should be kicking myself for failing this journal with appropriately regular entries. A bad habbit offailing to build good ones but than what is the point in punishing one’s self during the festivities they are so obsessed about – without wanting to be racist or offensive I am refgering to the lot we generally claim responsible for the current civilizational state of the world.

So these series of festive days int he passing now and I think the highlight was builiding a fire to keep some light going the longest night a couple of days before the decorate the tree, stress int he kitchen, open presents and eat yourself sick days. We got pretty drunk that night altough failed with the dancing around the fire naked… maybe staying with my mum and the minus temperatures stopped us. so perhaps we weren’t all that drunk.
As for the so called regularly accepted and not labeled as ’pagan’ festive days I can only say it was pleasent and relaxed which came to me as a surprise in a family where some members are not willing to talk to each other or spend time in each others’ vicinity and the term ’extended family’ takes on new meanings. But this perhaps isnt for a public blog.

The bears are learning Jedi, Ernest rocks on his rocking raindeer, Lili plays with kitchen and microscope, Jen sows and I, I hm, I… actually I don’t know.

I just realised today that one can be defreanded on facebook for being extremely critical and showing a developing of one’s perspective… being a neomarxist for instance. It’s comic somehow for some time ago I have defriended someone who advocated fascist views and at some point passed around some good hearted racist comments too. I wonder if he thinks he was presenting healthy character development and I was punishing him for that. Anyways, when it is a friend’s parnter who defreands you which friend you have a withering away relationship, wondreing how to rekindle it while this partner he wishes to settle down to have kids and all you wonder to let go.

I got pretty tired this last week. I have been missing my routine, going for walks, or just doing nothing. When you are in a house that is not prepared for small kids it is tiring to just stay in and do nothing. the busiest possible option.

There might be some who read this and I haven’t told you anything in a while. That doesn’t mean I don’t mean to I simply am just shit at conversing over the net. apologies. Drop a line at least for a while I will feel somewhat obliged to write back