I am sorry that I haven't been writing to you. I actually did write to you once, but the power was out for 40 minutes in Helsinki, and I couldn't post the letter.
Anyway, you'll be coming home tomorrow, and I can't wait. Like I said before, I have a few new tricks I want to show you. I have become quite the master with the yellow ball.
Today, I thought I would tell you a story about when I was a kid. I have always been pretty good at school, so I have been lucky that way. I got good grades most of the time. Then once, we had a math test where we had to add and substract (maybe 2nd grade) on a line, and for some reason, I always started from 1, instead of 0, which meant that all my calculations were off by one. So I failed the test. And I was miserable. But you can bet your ... hockey puck that I learned my lesson. And the failing hasn't bothered me much. So, it's OK to make mistakes.
Now, I went home with my "4" (= "F") and showed it to Mom. And then we decided that it was best to not tell about it to Dad. And Hannes, that has bothered me much more that the fact that I failed. Was Dad going to be mad at me? We don't know. Was he going to be sad? We don't know. So, Hannes, whatever you do, remember that you can always come and talk to Mom and me. Even if you think that we won't like what you have to say, say it, because a) you won't know until you say it, b) we'll always try to help you any way we can.
Congratulations, Hannes, you're nine months old today! Woohoo! I was talking to (your) Mom the other day, and I asked her which nine months she thought felt longer, the last nine months, or the nine months before that, when we were expecting you.
She said the first nine months. I am not sure what I think. All I know that when I sit here by the kitchen table, I remember the first weeks you were at home with us, and how I often sat here holding you, and just looking at you. You were not really sleeping, but not really awake, either. You just were there, and I was so proud to hold you and to protect you.
Anyway, today I was reminded of the fact that a lot of people care about others but never say it. Sometimes they only come out and tell you they like you when you're about to leave or when they think it's going to make a difference. So, Hannes, let people know you love them. The way you hug Mom, or laugh when I do my funny dance.
There will be times when saying "I love you" can be the hardest you ever did, but it's worth it. Trust me.
Have a great, great 9-monthaversary. Give Mom a kiss for me.
Letters to Hannes, day 1 I was thinking that since Hannes is on his road show, I can't really write about what he does and how funny and cute he is. So why not write about how funny I am and how cute I am?. Just kidding.
Actually, I was thinking that I would write a letter to Hannes each day now.
Helsinki, August 20
Moi Hannes!
I hope you're having fun in Sweden, with Mom and Co. She has told me how you've charmed everybody. Just don't go overboard, son, just don't go overboard. Too much sugar ain't never good.
I miss you and Mom, and can't wait to get you back home again. Remind me to be careful when we see again, because I might hug you a bit too hard otherwise.
I haven't been doing anything special. I have been playing with that yellow ball, you know, and I've got a couple of new tricks to show you in a few days. Last night, I also tasted the remote control, and Hannes, I really don't understand why you chew it all the time. You have to explain it to me some day.
But the reason I decided to write this letter to you is that I want to teach you something. It sounds a little silly, because I hope to be teaching it to you by example as you grow up, but I am going to put it in here, too.
Hannes, when you grow up, remember to be brave. Take chances, do whatever you feel that's right. It's probably as scary as ... that moose that always tickles you, but once you've done, you feel great and charged. Don't be ruthless, though, and respect others. But always listen to your heart, because nobody else can tell what is right for you. There are no right answers, Hannes, you make a choice, and deal with it. So, listen to your heart.
Hannes's adventures What a weird morning. I dreamt that Hannes was standing up and making funny sounds, and then all of a sudden he was doing a radio morning show. I thought it was weird since I thought I was about the only person in the world that understood him. But there he was, a guest on the show.
Then Hannes went off air, and the regular guys were back on, and I realized that there was nobody else in bed with me. I mean, had there been somebody else, I had pretty much streamrolled over her by then.
And there was no Hannes making funny sounds in his bed. No Hannes looking at me with his big eyes, waiting for me to pick him up.
Nope. Hannes is out on a road show, entertaining Grandma and Grandpa in Sweden for a while. I have a whole week to come up funny stuff to show him when he gets back.
Triple tongue There are currently three languages spoken in our household: Finnish, Swedish and Hannes. It's pretty funny becaus both Jessica and I are pretty anxious to hear Hannes's first words. Not that we know that he'll be talking any time soon.
I mean, he does make a lot of different sounds, but talking? Not really.
Hannes can say, for example, "tha-tha" and I will get super excited and point to Jessi and go, "yeah, äi-ti, äi-ti", "äiti" being Finnish for "mother." (Now, there's a whole other issue since Jessica would really want Hannes to call her "mamma," but I just can't put that one word of Swedish into my Finnish sentences. I get so self-conscious about it, and I always just fall back to "äiti.") Meanwhile, Jessica hears the same "tha-tha" sound and she goes, "yeah, titta." "Titta" means "look" in Swedish.
And yet, Hannes may mean neither of the two. Or, he might be saying, "look, ma!"
Workin' fer a livin' They're coming to take me away, ha ha, they're coming to take me away, ho ho. My vacation is officially over 00.00 tonight, and it's time for me to return to the office tomorrow morning.
I can't say that I am looking forward to a lot of stuff there and I know for sure I am going to miss being around Jessica and Hannes. We've had such a blast this summer, and seeing Hannes learn new things every day is something I don't want to miss out on. I really don't.
So, I guess I will have to either deal with it and not do anything or deal with it in some other way, and try to solve the problem.
The good thing in all this is that Hannes has just learned to wave hello and goodbye, so he can see me off to work tomorrow morning.
