Category: Writing 101

May all your Christmases be white

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©Mia Salminen, Christmas 2006

Day 10 on Writing 101 brings back those childhood memories around Christmas. Those were the best Christmases I remember. My sister and both of my grandmothers were still around. We always celebrated within the family. I don’t really remember those Christmas dinners with my sister but I do remember when we looked through the oven window where the ham was getting ready. I remember it was at night but maybe it was late evening. We thought it was so exciting. Christmas itself was fun when you’re a child.

My mother made all the meals herself from scratch. We also made gingerbread cookies. In the Finnish traditions, the Christmas dinner is a big part of the celebrations. It’s on Christmas Eve. It’s a way to get the whole family around the dinner table to eat various Christmas cuisines. Before dinner we had glogg (glögi in Finnish) with almonds and raisins. Some adults put some alcohol in it too. It was usually drank after going to the cemetery to put candles on the grave. It was cold outside so it was always nice to drink something hot afterwards.

The table was always nicely set. With two plates, one small and one a little bigger. One fork and knife each. Crystal glasses and napkins nicely folded. We also had real candles on the table. We always had ham. A turkey wasn’t very common at the time. First we ate cold food like freshly salted salmon and pickled herring with boiled potatoes. It was too salty to eat without. Then it was time for the warm food. The ham was the only cold one. There were carrot casserole, liver casserole (that I didn’t like) and rutabaga casserole. With that there was rosolli, a Finnish dish. It contains boiled beetroots, carrots, potatoes, pickled cucumber. Some people might put apples and/or Baltic herring in it too.

When the dinner was over it was time to move to the living room. As a child this was the best moment, presents and maybe Santa. Before that we would eat dessert. Sometimes we had cake bought from the store or we had Prune jam pastries (Joulutorttu) and ginger bread cookies.

The people around the dinner table has since then decreased. But that’s the way it goes. Those dinners were the best I have ever had.

A 3 POV (point of view)

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A young mother and her 5-year-old son is on a playground in the park. The boy is playing with his spade and bucket in the sandbox. The mother tells him, it time to go home but he refuses. He continues to fill his bucket with sand. The other kids in the park had already left.

An older lady is sitting on a bench a little further away, watching them. She thinks about her own son when he was the same age. She can see herself in the young woman, struggling to get her son home. She’s old now and her son has moved away. She comes to the park every day and sits on the same bench. Her husband died 10 years ago. This was the same bench where they had met. She had fond memories of this park. It had changed a lot since then but the atmosphere was still the same.

The young mother is loosing her patience. She knows she shouldn’t raise her voice but she does it anyway. She tells him, it’s getting late and they hadn’t eaten dinner yet. She tries to take the spade away from her son but he just whines. She takes a deep breath and sits down on the edge of the sandbox. She explains to him, calmly that they would come back tomorrow.

The old lady on the bench is a little worried about the mother’s reaction. She could go and tell her to calm down. But when she’s sees there’s no need, she let it be.

The young mother strokes her son’s hair and apologise for raising her voice. The boy empties the bucket and takes his mother’s hand in his. She helps him to get him out of the sand box. She takes the bucket and the spade with them. The situation is over and they walk home.

The old lady smiles to herself and feels relieved about the happy ending. It’s her time to go home too. She would come back the next day. Maybe she would see the young mother and her son there again.

Another infatuation

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Two friends are having a conversation in a small café in Paris. They are sitting around a small round table, close to the window. They have ordered coffee and a bagel each. They have been sightseeing the city all day so they’ve decided to take a break. The café only have a few customers so it’s peaceful there.

“So Louise, what do you think about Paris then?”
“Good” She says and drinks some coffee from her cup
“You’re still upset, are you?”
“You think” Louise says, looking at her friend
“I just gave you my opinion. Was it that bad? You did ask what I thought”
“It’s not what you said. You just want to mock me”
“All I said was, what’s the point? It’s not like it ever gonna happened”
“So what?”
“And maybe he’s gay”
“Paul, you’re just jealous. You say that about every good looking guy. And he just happens to be very talented as well”
“No I’m not. All I’m saying is, you’ve been watching that scene too many times. You don’t like him that way” He says and drinks his coffee cup empty
“Whatever ‘that way’ means. This is just another infatuation. There’s nothing you should worry about. You will always be my number one” She says, touching his hand and finishes her coffee
“I’m not worried the slightest. Like who you want. Let’s go”

Both of them stand up and Paul leaves a tip on the table. They get to the front door and she opens it.
“The fact is, Lee Pace will always have something you don’t” Louise says and with that they get out to the street. Paul walks a little further behind her. He could never figure her out. Even if she was his twin sister.