The plague

We have been stricken with the plague. Sore throats, mouths full of blisters, fever, chills, stuffy noses and, a terrible cough to top it all off nicely.

Alex was the first casualty and, was getting sick even before we left to celebrate midsummer, or the summer solstice. Celebrating the light is an important tradition here in our little spot of the universe, where the winter turns days into nights with it's almost constant darkness and, the summer brings almost 24 hours of daylight. It is actually one of the more important holidays of the year here, which originates from the time before Christianity; when it was celebrated as a sacrifice time in the sign of the fertility.

It has occurred to me, that we're actually celebrating at the wrong time of the year, as this solstice is the beginning of the slow fall back towards the darkness of the winter. An acquaintance of mine from Iran, put up on facebook that they actually have a tradition of celebrating the winter solstice, as that marks the day when the light will be returning. That's definitely something that speaks to me. It would not be a bad tradition to adopt and, hey, December already holds the Sundays of advent, ST Lucia's day, Christmas and new years, along with the birthdays of : 3 of my siblings,my little nephew, my best friend and, then my own birthday as well, so who doesn't need another reason to celebrate?

As for the necessity of this midsummer celebration, I was very much in doubt, I honestly considered cancelling the whole thing. In the end I left the decision up to Alex and, after going back and forth for a while, he decided that he was well enough to go.

It turned out to be a great time spent in the company of good friends, with good food to stuff ourselves with and, we even had time for a long stroll in the woods.

There's still a magic there among the trees, that makes me think of beautiful elves dancing in the mist and, 3 little girls with very vivid imaginations, watching out for trolls and, skippety-hopping to the rhythm of the otherworldly music, played by the nokken on his enchanted violin. All while collecting 9 different types of flowers to put under their pillows, truly believing that this would let them dream of their future husbands at the magical midsummer night.

I wish I could go back to that time, before the girl and her sisters were stricken by the plague of adulthood and, stopped believing in the mysterious and mythical beings of the endless woods and landscapes of Sweden.

I miss her.

I miss the strolls in the woods too. That's one of the few disadvantages of being back here in the south . There's no forest here, but on the other hand I missed the long strolls on the beach when I lived further north.

Nature is a beautiful thing, whether it comes in the form of soft waves meeting the shore with the sound of tranquility, or the calm that can be found in the magnificent silence that rules the spirits of the ancient trees in the forest. The inner stillness it brings Is a powerful gift either way.

All in all I'm glad we went, but after 2 days Peeper was definitely getting sick and, Alex was waking the whole neighbourhood up with his cough at night. Both me and B had started to feel it in our throats as well, so it wasn't just for fear of not being able to find tickets for Sunday, when we knew half of the population of Sweden would be on the move to get back to their hobbit holes as well, that we decided to cut our visit a day short.

We're slowly getting better, but it seems as though it's taking an awfully long time. Not that it has been that much of a punishment to stay in bed mind you, when the rain has been poring down outside our window anyway.

Today is the first day of really nice summer weather since midsummer eve and, like the sunflower I am, I'm already feeling better. It's time to give this plague the boot and, get out there and soak up the rays of the sun, like any good sunflower should.