English Version — Saying Yes to a Day of Joy

Sometimes, it’s enough just to say yes.
This day became all about play, connection, and family moments — filled with laughter, tired legs, and a house that breathed life.
A real example of attachment in everyday life.

Läs det här på Svenska Lekland anknytning och familjestunder att säga ja

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Early morning, robe and slippers — and freedom in the countryside

The day started early.
At 4:45 AM, I drove off to pick up Alfred.
Wearing my bathrobe and slippers, because that’s what you do when you live out here in the countryside.

Not many are awake then, and the deer don’t care what I’m wearing.
I often go to my morning swim dressed just like that.

Alfred looked at me and said I was a bit strange.
Probably no other grandma arrives in a bathrobe and slippers.
I laughed — maybe this is what grandmas are supposed to do.

Back home: hot chocolate for him, coffee for me.
Then scones and scrambled eggs when the little guy woke up.

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A yes when he expected a no

He looked at me carefully and said:

“I think you’re going to say no… but it would be fun to go to a play center.”

I think he imagined that Alfred would like it too.
He and his friends had talked about going there.
He already seemed prepared for me to decline.

Which made it even more fun to say yes.
To Stellas Lekland.

He checked the opening hours and calculated the entry fee.
We made a deal:
Even if it was boring, we’d stay until I decided to go —
because fun shouldn’t be wasted in just half an hour.

We packed water bottles — because adventures are thirsty.

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Play, attachment, and family moments — where theory meets reality

We arrived right when they opened.
The boys were excited and ran off as soon as I showed them where I would sit with my book.

That book was all about attachment theory.
Feelings, insights, little stings in the heart.
How children dare to explore when they know a safe adult is close by.

And there they were — proof in motion:
Two boys with laughter in their legs and safety in their backs.

Water refills, lunch breaks, energy boosts.

Four hours later, I was the one saying stop.
They didn’t want to admit how tired they were.

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Cowboy soup, pancakes, and a home full of life

Back home:
One kid with a phone in bed, another beside him,
and me in the kitchen making cowboy soup.

“If there’s soup, there must be pancakes,” my husband declared.
So pancakes it was.

A dinner table filled with voices and presence.
I just sat there and soaked it in.

A full house.
A full heart.

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Halloween creativity — my daughter’s world

Later, my daughter came to pick up Alfred,
still wearing her Halloween makeup from work
— right after a house viewing.
Why not? Freedom spreads.

She has made so many spooky dolls over the years —
art that could fit into any horror movie.
Hand-crafted gravestones, little coffins…
she goes all in.

I laugh. And I am proud.
She does what she loves — and she does it fully.

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Between the lines — My voice

Today was not just a date on the calendar.
It was one of those days that become memories.

A day where I said yes,
and two boys got a story to tell.

A day where the simple things meant everything:

• A car ride in a bathrobe
• Scones at dawn
• Play-center laughter
• Soup and pancakes
• A home filled with life

A day that says:

I’m here.
I’m living my life.
And it can be a little messy — and a lot joyful.

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AHA — Between the lines

We should say yes more often.
Especially when children think we won’t.
That moment —
when they dare to hope —
that is where childhood magic begins.
And that is where the attachment becomes stronger.

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A question for you

When did you last say yes to something unexpected?
And what happened then?

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Reflection & closing

“Yesterday has already settled into history.
Tomorrow is waiting somewhere ahead.
But right now — this is where life happens.” Carina Ikonen Nilsson