and so it happened

- i got ill and had to quit my old job
- i got depressed
- i found a new job and was happy
- i started wearing pretty clothes and jewellery
- but am still ill
- so i quit blogging
- quit making dinners
- quit tidying the house
- quit making school lunches
- quit pretty much everything
- but loving
- and marvelling at the brilliant and sad beauty of this world

- i got a tattoo
- i possibly, and probably, suffer from CFS/ME
- but i will definately get another tattoo
- i just opened a microscopic shop here, even though it was way too premature
- and today i opened up my blog again

corner view: through the eyes of a child

..."the child" being the photographer (me) :)

ps - i'm away for a while, this post was 'planned' but didn't post, so that's why i'm late for cv. might post randomly for the next couple of weeks - or might not ;)

rite de passage

                            

In Norway, as in many other countries, teenagers go through a coming of age ritual to mark the leaving behind of childhood. In the old days, this was a ritual to mark the entrance of adulthood; a 'passage' from childhood to adulthood.

That was before James Dean cemented the teenager into our culture forever; a period of time which seem to expand (in both ends) with each new generation. People don't seem to become grown-ups anymore.

Anyway.

The jewish Bar/Bat Mitzvah, the hindu Upanayanam, the christian Confirmation, the japanese Seijin shiki, even the U.S.' Sweet Sixteen; within different cultural contexts, they all mark the same transition. In Norway, there are two options; the christian and the humanist, which both take place the year the teenager in question turns 15. 

Our soon-to-be 15 year old son chose the humanist ceremony. Once a week for 6 months he met up with other teenagers and a group leader to discuss all kinds of subjects related to ethics, humanism, human rights, alcohol and drugs, immigration and class, sex/abortion/homosexuality etc. 

The whole thing culminated in a solemn ceremony, and a family party. Speeches were required. So I took the opportunity to tell my son how lucky he is to be born here, now, and receiving applaud, gifts, and cake, instead of all the other things he might have had to endure were he born in a different culture or at another time. For instance (and yes, some of them are hard to believe, hence the photos - they were all shot during the speech):

He didn't have to get undressed and cover himself in ash.

He didn't have to spend several days and nights in a cave, deprived of food, sleep and water.

He didn't have to be attached to a pole through hooks penetrating his skin, and he didn't have to drink the blood of the male elders of the family. 

He didn't have to cut his private parts, or otherwise receive the power of manhood through means one would be imprisoned for in our culture.

He didn't have to get tattoos or get tied down in an anthill.

He didn't have to kill a lion or sleep naked in the snow.

We have lost a lot between the blood drinking and the cake. Comfort is not one of them.

"who, me?"

happy new year to everyone!

ephemera

daughter: don't look, i'm making you a present.
mother: ok.
daughter: but - i don't think you'll like it, because it's not going to last. you'll probably throw it away immidiately.
mother: not all things are meant to last, sweetie.
daughter: i know. like people.
...
she had painted me some tissue paper and hung them on a string across the room to dry in the sun.
later that night, after she had gone to sleep, i lay quietly down beside her in her bed. i held her softly and stroke her face and cried.
she knows. like people.
just like that.

**********

we're back from our little trip to the woods and our yearly viking adventure, and i'm currently sorting through my photos. will be back. and no, no one's dying (that i know of) :)

she's at it again

The wasps are back, and so is her interest  in dissecting.

Rhythm of the Home, the online mag (which I guest wrote for a couple of weeks ago - at their blog, that is) is out with their summer issue - go have a look!

and the earth kept breathing

egg hunting, egg dyeing, egg drawing.
dinner with friends and family.
crafting for the summer viking market.
snow's gone, 10'C.
yeah. spring, i guess.

in the bleak midwinter

i'm such a lousy blogger these days. the days are just packed. right now we're preparing the kid's skiing trips. they'll be away for almost four days with their classes - both at the same time. what's a mum and dad supposed to do with all that time??
my mood has been a bit unstable so far this february. i'm not sure whether it's some big existential stuff (again... sigh), or just uneasiness about the snow that never leaves. but at least, i can hear the birds sing now.  

about:turning the season

we're off for a week to hunt down the summer that left us in a puddle of rain water. i've got the sun hat... and i'm working on my - uhm - err - what?!?!
... a needlebinding hat for charlotte. i might be 'interesting', but i'm not crazy! see you in a weeks time, with 'about: raising the dead'!

midsummer boy

thirteen years ago...this midsummer eve*, that little buddha baby turned into a teenager.

something sticky in his hair, new shoes, a brand new t-shirt from his tae kwon do club, and a 4 hour old ipod.

thirteen.

i'm not gonna say 'how did that happen?', because i was there, all along. and i remember him; every bit of him. i remember him better than i do his sister, even if she's a lot younger. he was, after all, my first.

i might remember him, but i don't remember me from all those years. all i know is that i've changed a lot, and that i'm not exactly sure how. but i know it's for the better, and i know it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the gift of motherhood this boy bestowed upon me.

it's an interesting age. all the clichés are true. they go from child to teenager and back again in a split second, oh about 20 times a day. it really is a roller coaster ride, just as much for us as for him. it's like; 'who is he now?'. yeah. a bit like that. a bit like working with someone with multiple personalities. and work it is, but then it's all play again. whoa!

we went for a hike around a lake today, and after using his ipod for 30 minutes or so (feeling so very cool and teenage like in the middle of the forest), he declared it 'needed to rest'. he had found this tree instead. big boy, maybe, but not bigger than that. thank goodness.

*due to the church's attempt of christianizing the pagan people and their customs, midsummer celebrations take place on the 23rd instead of the 21st here in scandinavia. it is called saint hans - hans being a short form of johannes (john). (btw, in the netherlands it's called saint jan - be sure to check out daans great midsummer celebration here!). it is actually the 24th that is saint johns day, but it's an old scandinavian pagan tradition to start a celebration the night before it occurs. this is also the case for all the other christianized holidays.

moving the midsummer celebration a couple of days and varnishing it with a christian name didn't really do much, though - st hans is still a celebration of fertility and the sweetness of summer; the bonfires are still lit everywhere, and young people still take to the woods in the night.

saint john; the saint of barbeques, bonfires and a'maying. i wonder what he would have thought of that.

PS - i will post the recipe and a step by step instruction to making elderflower lemonade tomorrow.