Norway 7: Last Look at Stavanger + When 2021 met 1960 by Sandrael

Around Town in Stavanger

Los Angeles is my home, and I love every minute of its constant sunshine and clement weather. So, I never imagined I’d happily layer leggings under my jeans, pile on three shirts, and two jackets on yet another cloudy rainy windy morning in Stavanger, Norway. But with Norway’s hourly-changing weather and extra-long hours of daylight, good weather was always around the corner and each day felt multiple bonus ones were folded into a single 24-hour period — daily twists and turns that somehow echo of my current endeavor to learn to self-publish the novels I’ve written.

(Note: all posts about our visit to Norway are here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here.)

We cruised Stavanger’s old town…

At the city’s port, a gigantic cruise ship filled the town with British visitors looking for sights — surely many of the tourists would find L.A. weather stifling…

But wait… just like Los Angeles, Stavanger has its own take on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

When the weather turned extra wet, we ducked into the fascinating Norwegian Petroleum Museum. Norway won the lottery when it discovered oil in 1969, transforming from a poor nation to a wealthy one. As a result, they boast drool-worthy social services, including generous parental leave, free education and healthcare, and robust support for the elderly. Seeing a society where people don’t have to worry about these basic needs blew my mind and made me sad to come home.

Imagine the relief of living with your taxes put to good use—doing away with the constant anxiety we try to ignore. If couples decide to marry or stay together, it’s not because they’re stuck together for health insurance or financial stability. On the other hand, since the discovery of oil, many fear they’re making a deal with the devil by contributing to the ruin of Mother Nature.

Art is everywhere in Stavanger. Given the abundance of it all over Norway, it’s clear they’re sold on investing in art’s power to enhance life at every level.

This Persian king is sculpted from date syrup cans…

And speaking of repurposed materials, Norway has kept some of its obsolete phone booths and converted them into tiny libraries…

For the next blog post, we’re off to Bergen!

Guest Post: Sandrael

Today’s guest blog post is by author/blogger Sandrael. You can find out more about her and her books at www.sandraelsandrael.com.  As a child, she wrote plays for the neighbor children. As an adult, she publishes collections of poems and short stories.

Here she allows us the first peek at her latest super short story. She says, “I feel that this story wrote itself, as I was very surprised about my meeting with my mom who had been dead for quite a number of years. I would say this is one of the most spiritually charged writings in my collection…

When 2021 met 1960 by Sandrael

As I emerge into my backyard pool with alternative music playing on my Bluetooth speaker. The heat of the air turns to slight chills in lieu of the hot 115-degree heated summer breeze, cool waterfall and jets streaming just rushing down into my pool onto me. One single pink umbrella is the shelter from the persistent sun and that umbrella is hugging on to the hole in the side of the wall in the pool trying its best to shade me.

I grab one of those mini surfboards for balance as I look up squinting my eyes in the blinding sun. I see a mountain and birds chirping, woodpeckers are pecking, lizards crawling and red leaves floating alongside my anxious self. I am almost giddy of meeting again. As I am awaiting a visit from my mom back into my world. I am loving another chance to float my cares away and feel her best love radiate throughout my existence. Just for me and with me.

As I quickly get accustomed to the water, I take a huge breath and roll into a ball. And there I mix my tears of joy into the chlorine and ignore the honey bees’ tiny bodies that always join me for a swim. What I feel is the spiritual connection to my mother’s womb. And I feel her and hold my breath as my heartbeat matches hers. She carries me proudly as a part of her mindful self. The umbilical cord is short and we are closely connecting and no words need be said. But all that radiates vibrates concentrates is I love you and that says it all.

And as the water sways seemingly to the plink of new age guitar music, I emerge again for a breath or two of fresh mountain air. But I quickly submerge again to reconnect to my mother’s womb and smile because a grown person should not remember the warm dark cramped home of 9 months in vitro. But I remember and I am happily seemingly surprisingly intoxicated in the comfortable human cradle. With her hand on her stomach she is rubbing me in acknowledgement and anticipation. And I am soothed and satisfied. Feeding on her and with her.

I repeat this submerging and emerging several times because it makes me happy so so happy to feel my Ma in this way or any way any time any place. Since I have not seen her on this side of heaven since 1995.

I never knew she could she would she did find me and offer her embraces after all this space passing between us and 2500 miles away from where we had to depart for the last time. But here we are in my backyard under water and in a thoughtful jovial mind-boggling state of hellos. We finally impart and depart until next time.

As I finally begin my water exercises, I am already looking forward to our next visit. My consolation has been validated that the umbilical cord is invisible and has the capacity to reach as far as necessary. From Gods allowance from heaven to earth. And earth back to heaven we are one as we were in 1960 when she rubbed her huge belly in anticipation of my birth. I wanted to see who loved me before I took my first breath. And it was her and she was mine and I can feel her any time that I want if I just believe. And I do and always have believed that love has no ending. And a mother’s love is a forever love that reaches you wherever you are even out of time. From 1995 to 2021 must have been a long journey for her. And I am grateful. Obviously, it is just that one superior love that you can count on for the rest of your life.

We were once one as my heartbeat under neath hers just one love …and we always will be. When love departs in death it is never really dead. It just transforms.

Question: What place have you visited that changed your perspective on home?