Nowadays

This is me with Caroline and Stina - at Caroline's wedding last summer. The three of us have known each other for ever - since we were just bonny seven-year olds in Mildred's first grade class. And even though we've hated each other some days, we have always found our ways back to friendship. 
 
So many memories, so much emotion. They are my best and dearest friends and I love them to death.
 
Now they are both pregnant, and I wish I was too. Partly to still have everything in common with them. It hurts not being a part of that, just coming home to visit. It's one of the highest prices of living so far away, to be a irregular visitor in your best friends houses.
 
Tonight we'll have dinner together. That I love.

10.52  -  16.08

To meet Susanne and her Carl, I went to Malmö today. Susanne is one of my best friends from Kristianstad and my constant mind coach. We've spent many, many hours over countless coffee and tea cups trying to make sense of the world. I believe we get a little closer every time ;-) Since I last saw her, in January, she's followed her heart across Skåne and moved in with Carl. Congratulations!

Thank you for a great day - and thank you for the sushi. 

(In reality, Susanne is not as blurry as the picture might suggest. The lack of sharpness is due to both the photographer and the object walking.)

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18.20  -  23.40

The girls' had dinner at Caroline's because Martin was away at some conference in Stockholm where he was appointed the best salesman of the last quarter of the year! Congrats Carl Martin (former known as only Martin).




After eating and catching up on the latest gossip, Stina test made-up Caroline in bridal shimmer. The wedding is in a week now! I can't believe it's so soon! For me, this will the first wedding I go to - my best friend's wedding. I'm sure I'll cry like a baby. 






I chillax in Caroline's couch and blow kisses to Stina.




On the bus going home. Stina is being a good girl, putting on the seat belt and all. This is her "old-lady-pose".

On Sunday, Stina's mom, Louise, had an open house to celebrate her 50th birthday. It's a strange thing watching our parents get older... It's a reminder we are heading in that direction ourselves.

. . . Carlsberg when she was born. That would have been the perfect combo of her parents' names, Carlsson and Östberg.

Linus, Stina's little brother, came home from London to celebrate his mom. When we grew up, he was the most annoying little kid; now he's a newly graduated economist.

Sunday was rainy so mom and I went to the mall; a temple full of homeless clothes. I saved an orphan dress and one shirt . . .

I's noon and I just woke up, which means I slept for twelve hours! OMG! Before I went to bed last night, my mom said she hoped the new mattress for the sofa bed was comfortable. There are no doubts. No doubts at all...




Last night I saw Stina & Max, Mia & Uffe and Oliver for a couple of hours. It's so nice to be back with all my friends. Seeing them again makes me realize how much I have missed them.




Max & Stina




Oliver showed his awesome, inflatable Superman costume (which matches his Sweden-shorts perfectly) and his talking Darth Vader mask.

Monday was my last day with Ann. Before we come back from Texas, she will go home to Malaysia over the summer, and then we will move before she gets back in August. We've had so many great moments together during this semester and I will miss her terribly. She is a great friend. Who will help me solve the world's problems over a cup of coffee now? Sadly, we didn't have too much time to spend together on Monday, being in the middle of finals and all, but it's the quality of the time you spend that counts.

As a good bye gift I got this beautiful anklet; now we both have the same.

One thing I've been waiting to do all week is publishing pictures from the amazing surprise party my best friends threw for me last Saturday. All I knew in advance was that something was going to happen that day. Stina and Caroline had told me to take the day of and come home to Landskrona. And so I did.
     

The instructions said to be at Caroline's parents' house at 15.30. I thought the girls would be there, but nope. Instead Caroline's mom gave me an envelope that held the first clue to a rebus and a map over the neighborhood. To get to the next clue I had to go to number two on the map, and so on. When I finally had all clues (except one that totally passed me) I could follow the instructions and walk over to the real meeting place, the premises not far away. There waited six happy faces for me. Caroline, Stina, Jill, Josefin, Nina and Mia. The first five have been my friends since elementary school. We were in the same class in school for six years, and pretty much grew up together. They are amazing people, all special in their own way and even though some of us don't see each other that much anymore I love them dearly and know they are always there for me. They are golden souls in my life. Mia is Stina's sister in law, a sweet and warm person, always fun to see.

              

Caroline and Stina had planned a great afternoon. Together we all went to a sauna, showered and then sat sweating in the steam, drinking champagne, laughing, chairing memories and updating each other on our lives. It was sooooo much fun. After a while Stina told me to get ready to walk into the next room. I had no idea what to expect but in there was Uffe (the masseuse, better known as Mias sambo) waiting by a massage table, ready to work my back. Sweet! I was in dream land.
  
An hour or so later, after showering and getting dressed, when I thought there would be no more surprises, I was suddenly blindfolded. With the help of Caroline and Josefin I was led out to a waiting car. Martin, Caroline's sambo, drove and even though I tried to follow the car's twists and turns it didn't take long until I had no idea where we were. After a while the car stopped and I was helped out and walked in through a door. When the band for my eyes fell a choir of voices screamed SURPRISE. There was my family, all of them (!), the girls from before and other friends as well. I was numb.

- - -

December 22nd - time for the annual girls Christmas party! The six of us went to school together five years ago (time flies!) and used to have so much fun. Nowadays we arre spread out over half the country, and soon half the globe.

This year we got together in Johanna's beautiful apartment, had dinner, exchanged presents and talked, talked, talked.
 

Johanna just survived her first year as Linus' sambo, happier than ever. I wish you both many, many more.
Anna is a house-owner-to-be. Together with Björn she'll move into their dream home at the beginning of next year. Good luck with everything!

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The best thing of keeping your childhood friends into adultness is that they know everything about you. You never have to explain how you think or why you feel a certain way. They just know by the look of your face. The backside, on the other hand, is that they remember all embarrassing moments, all stupid things you have done, as well as the silly things you still do.

Stina and I have known each other since first grade. For a while we were bitter enemies, but through our teenage years we grew very close. Since then she has been like a sister.