STRESS & RELIEF

I nearly collapsed from stress on Friday. My daughter Johanne had invited her sister Sophie to Amsterdam for her birthday present, and just as they were leaving Sophie couldn't find her passport. Looking for something in a stressful situation like that is pointless, and she finally had to leave for the airport without her passport. They ran off to catch the airport train, leaving a trembling and nauseous Big Mama to babysit the two granddaughters for the weekend, and I told my daughters not to phone me unless they could offer good news. But of course I was not able to relax at all until I heard from them - and guess what! You don't need a passport in the The Schengen Area! You can travel with an ID-card, like your bank card or driving licence. Actually - I knew this. But why have I heard of so many friends and acquaintances who've had to pay a fortune for an emergency passport at the airport?

I found Sophie's passport the minute I got home, of course. It was in a place where we'd both frantically searched.

"Marius" jumper no 1

"Marius" jumper no 2

Knitting has been a form of therapy for me these past few months. I finished the first jumper in the typical Norwegian pattern called "Marius" last week - for Sophie, and have started a new one for Johanne, in the exact same colours. A bit boring, maybe - but my granddaughter has ordered one in pink, so that'll be a welcome change. I was very proud when I finally sewed up the last stitches to the neck. But alas - it turned out it was too tight for Sophie - who gets a bit claustrophobic around turtle neck jumpers anyway, and especially woolen ones, so now I have to rip back and redo the neck. And I just said knitting was therapeutic!

But going to the hairdresser's IS therapeutic. My Swedish hairdresser had suddenly decided to pack in her job and return to Sweden because her boyfriend longed for home, so I was back with my old hairdresser Emilie (well, she's young enough to be my daughter). I love her - she's the sweetest, nicest person! As usual here are my fresh-from the-hairdresser-selfies:

As you can see, outside my window there's lots of snow. Driving through a shaded and cold forest on Sunday I nearly skidded off the road and in among the trees - or worse, into a tree. The road was pure shiny ice and the car went completely out of control. My husband in the passenger seat and my two grandchildren in the back…. well, my heart pounded wildly for a long while afterwards. But the relief was immense. For once I was almost glad my husband has a slightly slow perception these days, and he actually said so himself! "I didn't notice anything until you were almost over the snow bank - thank heavens!"

My front garden

My winter wake up call

Maybe a certain amount of stress is not all bad for you. At least the relief afterwards is so tangible it feels almost good. It IS good. Because once again the situation is back to normal.

And yes. We still have stressful days. We still enjoy normal and relaxed situations. Just like everyone else. There's a certain relief in this too.