inwardsun.outwardsmile

Two weeks ago it was the end of summer. Now, it is beginning of autumn…

Swedish summer is sweet but short.

I am so glad I got August.

Leaving the job in Lofoten to go home was one of the best decisions I’ve made. It felt like I had “won” a month of living. Of laughing.

First: I bought a ticket to Way Out West.

Second: I decided I would go visit friends and family around Sweden.

I thought, since I was already on the west coast I could go to Helsingborg where many of my old classmates live. And since we were so close to Båstad we could take a nostalgic trip to our old school. And since Jönköping was more or less on the way home I could finally go see my old room mate Lina and her 7 months old son, Oliver.

I went from Hudiksvall to Stockholm, to Gothenburg and there, changing the route to Lina in Jönköping (or actually Sandhem – realizing when they called it out that I should get off)

We shared two years in a loft apartment in Båstad, biked to school together in the rain, laughed and cried and talked way too much. To say that we got close is an understatement. It was a roller coaster of a time but things have settled for us both and it was great to see a happy and healthy Lina, as a mother and a great friend.

And I got to cuddle with Oliver as much as I wanted.

From in-land Jönköping I had to take three trains to Helsingborg. My buddy “Berka” (or Fredrik if you will) picked me up the station and we went to his beautiful house and family. His daughter Emma of 1,5 years is just the cutest and I wish I could be closer and watch her grow up because she is a doll!

We arranged a BBQ at the house with some friends from school.

Kristin, who was pregnant at our graduation, has had a second child, Hugo, and Villiam is turning three years soon. I had hoped to see them but Kristin wanted an evening of catching up and of course with children around there is barely time to finish a sentence. Jonas who also lives in Helsingborg couldn’t come because his family had the flu. But Louise who is back from San Diego came!

It was so great to sit and just talk!

Memories , that are getting older by the year, still feels like yesterday.

Me and Berka took a roadtrip to Båstad. We walked around on the cobble stone streets and went into my old, favourite book shop. We had hoped to go out to Norrvikens Trädgårdar (the historic garden where our school is at) but it started raining heavily (like it was does this time of year) and when we called our old teachers they weren’t in anyway. I know we can still be back in five years and they will remember us.

I had an open plan to head down to Lund after Helsingborg but because Berka’s mother was visiting and she was driving back to Stockholm in the morning I caught a lift with her.

More classmates; George had written me on FB: I know you’re not in Stockholm without telling me! He had just come back from a last minute trip to Paris all by himself, looking happy and in love (with Paris he declared!) We met up at Lydmar Hotel where Lina works. Emma and Ida came and we had another lovely little Båstad-reunion.

There wasn’t much time in Stockholm to meet up with all my friends. Actually, I was happy to just chill out in the boy’s apartment. One night me and Micke made thai red curry and shared a bottle of red. I think by then, the tiredness kinda started to sneak up on me.

I was so comfortably beat.

And August was almost over.