Earlier this year, Susanna and I had grand plans for Izzy’s spring break. Izzy and I were going to fly to Texas to visit Ben; we would spend a few days in San Antonio before the major heat of the summer. Susanna was going to fly to Sweden to visit the newest member of the family, Agnes. Then came late January, new direction from the top, and huge amounts of churn in my job and the country. Any chance of telework disappeared, so any extra days I had to be at home with Izzy would have to come out of vacation time. And finally, came the “fork in the road” email and it started looking like I might get an opportunity to retire early.

So we decided to hold off on any major expenses and trips. I would save up my vacation hours until we figured out what was next. We would start looking at what it would take to sell the house and downsize or move. Instead of a grand adventure, Susanna and Izzy had to plan a spring break at home.

We have been spending a lot of time getting our house ready to sell this summer, and going through the many years of junk we (okay, mostly I) have accumulated. But we still needed to do something fun for school break; at least something more fun than every day at home. We watched the weather forecast and I put in extra hours early in the week.

Yesterday we headed down the coast to NYC. The weather was perfect for a day in the city. It wasn’t so hot that we baked in the sun, and it wasn’t so cold we froze. Light jackets and sweaters were perfect, and easy to pack in my backpack when we armed up.

Izzy wanted to bring her best friend, Evelyn. We picked her up first thing in the morning, stopped and Dunkin for breakfast and drove to New Haven. From New Haven we took the commuter train to Grand Central Station. Evelyn hadn’t been to New York City before, so it was a new adventure for her. Izzy normally did NYC with just her parents, so having a friend along was a new adventure for her.

From Grand Central Station, we walked to Times Square. There we jumped on the subway to Chelsea and the High Line Park. We found a bagel bakery for lunch then walked maybe half of the park. By the time we left the park it was almost too crowded to walk the trail. We exited the park to street level and took an Uber to Magnolia Bakery. We took our afternoon sugar snack to Central Park to find a nice rock outcrop to sit and eat on. Izzy and Evelyn ran around the Heckscher Playground until it was time to walk back to Grand Central Station, with a stop at Midtown Comics.

Susanna bought what must have been the worlds most expensive grapes at Grand Central to hold us until we got back to New Haven and found a place to eat on the way home. We dropped off Evelyn at here house and made it home around bedtime. Both girls gave two-thumbs-up for the day; three-thumbs-up if they had an extra digit.

I’m entering my second week here in Sweden. We have settled into the annex/guesthouse at Susanna’s parent’s house in Sävsjöström, Sweden.

On Saturday we took a pretty easy day and enjoyed the nice weather. In the morning, Susanna, Izzy and I did the short loop down the lake to the cabin and back up the road.Susanna’s mom, Charlotte, and I took a longer (5km) walk through the woods in the afternoon, passing an old tar-production pit on the walk. That afternoon we went to Susanna’s sister’s house for dinner, and for me to setup Minecraft for Isabella’s cousin on the laptop. This will hopefully allow them to play and talk online when we return to the US.

Sunday we went to an Allsång (sing-along) in Åseda to watch Susanna’s uncle, Johan, sing. An Allsång is a concert where the audience members are encouraged to sing along with the songs, and although I didn’t recognize any of the Swedish songs, there were a few in English that I had heard before. It was a fun afternoon and Susanna’s extended family was there. We finished the evening with dinner at a Thai restaurant in town and took Izzy’s cousins (Olle and Ebbe) back with us to spend the night.

Olle and Ebbe stayed with us on Monday. Susanna’s parents watched all three grandchildren for the day, so Susanna and I had the chance to go out together for some sightseeing. We visited the oldest fully wooden church in Sweden, Granhults Kyrka, and had lunch back in Åseda at a very nice cafe, Linas Butik & Café. We then went home and enjoyed a quiet (as quiet as possible with 3 kids) afternoon.

Dan and I took a walk around his property before dinner. We have always taken a walk though his woods when I’m here. Some day I’ll be able to easily tell the difference between the tall (pine tree) and gran (fir tree), but not today. We walked through woods with 100-year old trees and woods that he and Rebecka planted not too many years ago. He pointed out possible building sites with a view of the lake, and we talked about Susanna and I possibly buying a plot of land for a summer home from him. I think we have agreed on a spot across the road from his house and up the hill a bit, and will look at 3-4 hectares. This is part of Susanna and my plan for my retirement – a move to Sweden after Izzy finishes 8th grade in the US. We shall see about the land – there is still a bunch of years before I can retire and we need to think about it for a year or two before we buy land.

Today, Susanna, Izzy and Susanna’s mom took the train to Stockholm. They are going to a music festival tomorrow. Izzy’s favorite artist, Alessandra Mele, is playing. Izzy is fanatical about Alessandra, who represented Norway in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest with the song, “Queen of Kings.” Everyone in our household has heard that song way too many times.

I took the day to drive to Kalmar and walk around the town at my own pace and take pictures. The weather was partially overcast which made for great lighting for pictures. I returned home mid-afternoon and enjoyed a ride down the lake and back with Dan on his boat.