Day 211: Key to Life

I found the key to life. Okay maybe it isn't THE key to life, but it looks like it should be some mysterious, magical key to life, doesn't it? It is actually the key to open the garage at the summer cottage. I love old things like this old-fashioned, skeleton key and I especially love that things such as this still exist and are in use in Sweden.

One of the keys to our apartment is also an old fashioned skeleton key but not quite as big as this one. When we moved to Stockholm and closed on our apartment, the previous owners handed us the keys I was delighted when I saw this old key. "That's for our apartment?!" I asked with glee. It was like living in part of a fairy tale where you get to unlock the magic castle with the magical key, every day.

Our apartment is by no means a magic castle in the fairy tale sense but we really like it and I love opening, and locking, our front door with this key. The fascination and awe still exist. I have never used an old key like this before so it could take a while for the novelty to wear off.

But on a serious note, we just returned to the big city (Stockholm) from the country (Tjörn) and I can honestly say that the key to life lies in finding the balance. The balance between work and play, or simply put, seriousness and fun. Swedes call this balance "lagom," which literally translate to mean "just right." I think it is a very good word to describe balance.

Balance for me was spending a glorious week out at Tjörn at the summer cottage. Sitting lazily in the corner chair and reading my detective novel, working in the yard and hauling cut branches up the hill, watching our kitty get to explore the great outdoors for the first time in her young kitty life, cooking good food and going on boat trip picnics and swimming in the ocean. It was definitely and perfectly lagom.