I woke up this morning to the sounds of a lot of xylophone and a little harmonica. Which, I must admit, was quite nice, compared to the usual morning screaming and running around. It was probably the most peaceful wakeup I’ve experienced in some time: no alarming sounds, just a subtle push into reality.
Since my return to Sweden, things have been busy, exciting, interesting, challenging, exhausting and more. I’ve found that I’m going to bed earlier than normal (between 11 and midnight), not because I necessarily want to, but more because I have to, since 1) I know I will be waking up between 6 and 8 a.m. whether I like it or not, and 2) the day takes so much out of me that I can easily fall asleep at that time within moments of my head hitting the pillow.
The day I returned, the two older kids were in kindergarten so we ended up going to the Mölndals Museum, which used to be a stocking/sock factory and is now a museum and cafe. After a bite to eat, we went through the museum, which is currently featuring an exhibit on Sweden in the 70s. In addition, it also has other sorts of things from the past – some reminded me of American life and some where totally different. It was cool to see though, especially pictures of the area in the early-to-mid 20th century.
Afterward, we went on a short walk in the snow, before returning to the car in order to pick up the kids on time. We dropped Linda off at the school so she could walk home with them, and returned to the house. I decided to take a quick power nap, which turned into two hours… more than anything I was amazed that I slept so long and soundly in spite of the cacophony taking place throughout the rest of the house.
The rest of the day consisted of the usual: eating lots of delicious food, listening to playlists, playing with the kids and good conversation.
The following day (Wednesday), the kids went to kindergarten once again (with the exception of Melker) and so the four of us drove in downtown Göteborg, the main objective being to get some tea at Thehuset, a speciality tea shop. A friend of mine, Stephanie, told me about how much she loves this particular tea (kärleks te) and her supply is nearly gone, so I got a big bag for her to enjoy when I return. Afterward, we wandered through the streets, checking out various shops, as well as buildings and churches in the city, finally stopping at Kronhuset for some afternoon coffee before having to make our way back to Kållered to pick up the kids (who are in kindergarten from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., three days a week).
Yesterday was a holiday so school was closed, making it an extra long weekend for the children. In the morning, Linda and I went to the supermarket (Coop Forum) with Tilde to take care of the weekly grocery shopping. Tilde insisted on having her own cart to push, although by the time we’d made it halfway through the store, she had abandoned it and left me with the duties. I’m sure I looked quite ridiculous pushing a cart that was far too small for me through the store.
Later in the afternoon, Filip went to a Christmas tree plundering party, which is just like it sounds: kids get together and eat the candy from a tree. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, but Filip seems to have enjoyed himself and wasn’t too hyped up on sugar when he returned. For dinner, we had takeout from a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant in town, and surprisingly, the kids all went to bed relatively easily, compared to some other nights. Afterward, Linda, Magnus and I enjoyed coffee and chocolate pie for dessert, which was the perfect nightcap.