Everyday life, presence, and trust can reveal themselves in the very smallest moments.
A morning with candlelight and coffee.
A plan that changes.
A phone call from a neighbour.
Sometimes it is right there, in the unplanned, that life steps forward and becomes clear.
Read this post in Swedish ->Vardag närvaro tillit – när en vanlig dag blir något mer
For me, everyday life, presence, and trust are about daring to say yes when life knocks on the door – even when it is not written in the calendar.
Everyday life, presence, and trust in what was not planned
The candle is lit on the table here.
The flame spreads a sense of calm in the morning. It is such a gift to wake up like this – candlelight, a cup of coffee, and the laptop in my lap, just to write for a while.
I feel stiff in my neck and shoulders. Yesterday was an eventful day.
It began before half past six, as I was back at the swimming pool again. When I got home, I wrote a blog post, and after that my husband and I went into town. I wanted to buy lamps for the kitchen and living room windows. I had looked online beforehand, searching for small lamps, but nothing really appealed to me. And when we went out yesterday, there was nothing then either.
So we went home without the lamps, but stopped by City Gross to buy groceries.
Once home, we unpacked the shopping, and I was just about to prepare my pizza – that was what we had decided to eat. Then the phone rang.
My neighbour asked if I could help with her children.
And of course, I said yes.
I went over to the neighbour’s place while my husband prepared the pizzas. When I arrived, the children were about to eat. The little boy was sitting in the kitchen eating, and the little girl – who is only around a year old – was also supposed to eat. She was not as enthusiastic about food, so there was a bit of running around with a fork to get a bite in now and then.
I had never looked after the children before. I know the little boy a bit – he is his own small soul, with very interesting thoughts. But the little girl is so young and has not been very comfortable with anyone other than her mother, so when the parents left, she was a bit upset at first. That passed after a while, largely thanks to her big brother, who entertained both her and me.
I walked around carrying the little girl when my husband rang the doorbell. My pizza was ready. He came over with a plate of oven-warm pizza and another plate with salad.
At the same time, he kept an eye on both us and the neighbour’s cat through the window. He called to say that the cat was sitting on the steps and wanted to come inside.
That felt reassuring. Because if it had become too much, I knew my husband was close by and could have come over to help with the small children.
But it didn’t become too much.
It was simply joyful to be there with them.
It turned out not to be very easy to eat pizza while holding a small child and cutting slices at the same time, so the pizza had time to get cold. But after an hour or two, it was eaten.
The little boy tried to entertain both me and his little sister. After a few hours, he felt that he wanted to play on his PS5. He said he wished his mum would call so he could ask if he was allowed to play. I said:
– But right now I’m the one here looking after you, and there is no other adult here except me. That means I get to decide, right?
His eyes lit up. We agreed that he could play for a while, but not for too long – I wanted to spend time with him as well.
Honestly, that boy amazes me. He went downstairs to play, and when I felt it was time to stop, I said that now we up here wanted him to come back and spend time with us. He turned off the game immediately, without any sulking at all, and came back up.
We danced and sang. He downloaded a game on my phone that he thought I should have, and he was so happy to help me play. When the parents came home, the little girl was happy, the little boy was happy too, and I crossed the street back to my own home.
Tired, with a sore back – but with such a warm feeling in my body from having been able to help for a while.
Now I sit here smiling at the memories from those hours with the children. At the little boy’s stories, and at the trust the parents showed me. That they trusted me enough to look after their children.
It feels big.
But now it is a new day, and new possibilities. I have no idea yet what it will hold. The thought was to go to the lake for a swim, but I have not quite decided whether today is the day or not.
Perhaps this is what everyday life, presence, and trust look like in practice – in the simple things, in the unexpected, and in meeting other people.
AHA – everyday life, presence, and trust between the lines
This post is not about babysitting.
It is about trust. About daring to be the adult who is there. About how relationships do not always require performance – sometimes presence, clarity, and warmth are enough.
Reflection on everyday life, presence, and trust
I think we sometimes underestimate the value of the small yeses in everyday life. The ones that are not planned, not written in the calendar, but that leave traces in the body. Maybe it is there that we are reminded of who we are – when someone else dares to lean on us for a while.
Questions for you who are reading
- When did you last feel trust – from someone else, or in yourself?
- Are there moments in your everyday life that became bigger than you expected?
- What happens in you when you are needed, without demands?
Read more from me
My Meter of Life – about life’s measures and what truly counts
👉 https://malix.se/
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Carina Ikonen Nilsson
Yesterday has already come to rest in history, tomorrow is waiting further ahead.
But right now – this is where life happens.
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