Do you know Mr and Mrs Ekstrand?

I sat on the train between Limmared and Lund on Friday afternoon reading the train magazine Kupe. They had an article about life in 2019. What will our lives be like in ten years time? Will we all be part of the gigonomic world and have multiple jobs, changing as society change, be part of multiple networks and have NuRo relationships? NuRos are men who are intelligent, in search of quality in life, who knows what he want and why. The macho image is dying out according to trendsetters. I’ve always found these types of questions interesting and I am ridiculously entertained by the future.

This weekend took me on a trip down memory lane, made me feel strangely connected to the present and gave a positive feeling of how people in my world are choosing for the future. I went down south to be part of the baptising of little Lisa (my sister Hanna and her boyfriend Kristians second daughter) but little did I know what they had up their sleeve.

Ingrid and Elsa had been asked to sing the song The Mysterious people and I had been asked to sing Annie’s song by John Denver. We would be accompanied by my guitar teacher Bengt Afzelius whom I had not seen for 17 years. As I know what a talented guitar player Bengt is I did not worry too much about our performance. After all it was only family. Bengt on the other hand called before and wanted everything well prepared and organised, sending me notes and youtube links and I responded:
- It’s only a baptising. Don’t worry about it.

Seeing Bengt after 17 years was great and within a minute we were back in the old school atmosphere. I took guitar lessons for many years and really enjoyed it. I never had the talent or the drive to become a professional guitarist but Bengt made guitar playing fun and showed me that making music or enjoying music is something that connects people and influence us in a way that is difficult to describe in words. Now we were standing in Lomma church practising as if the 17 years had never passed and it was fun and a really special moment. A caretaker from the church came by to ask if we knew where people would be standing, if there would be speeches and if there would be bridesmaids. I said politely that I only knew where we would be standing and thought to my self.
- They don’t even know that it’s a baptising and not a wedding, hmm…

Well, after the girls had finished their song to Lisa the priest told us that this was not only a special moment for Lisa but also for Hanna and Kristian as they had decided to get married. Imagining how it is to get up singing in a room where my husband is having a seriously emotional moment (crying his eyes out), where the groom could only whisper a yes as he is too touched by the moment and where my dad is desperately looking for his handkerchief. In order to stay on tune (Annies song is really a high pitch song) I had to look up in the ceiling of the church not to break up myself. Well, to say it short it was a really special moment and to end it all Bengt played Song to freedom on his brothers’ studio guitar. Bengts brother Bjorn Afzelius was a famous musician in Sweden who died of cancer much too early. All his songs have had a major impact on Hanna and me as we used to sing and play his music for hours when we grew up. No wonder Bengt had been nervous as he knew what was about to happen. When the caretaker talked about the bridesmaids he was sure I would get it but I had no clue.

During the party afterwards Bengt held a speech telling us that he had been 34 years old and a father of two when Hanna and I joined the music school (strange that we as teenagers always saw him as such an old man :). He then said:
- Imaging that I would have told you Hanna that in 17 years time you will have two children, be a teacher and hold a surprise wedding where I will play and which not even your sister knows anything about.

We don’t know what the future will be like and how much we can influence it but somehow I think the past connects us to the future by what we bring with us along the way. We meet special people, share special moments and can cherish the moments as they unfold. Sometimes it is a small situation that stays in our mind and sometime a bigger event. In 2019 my children will be entering their adult life. If they can bring as many good memories with them as I have had along the way they will most likely do just fine.

Hanna and Kristian have started a new journey as Mr and Mrs Ekstrand and I have a really good feeling about that! Love is in the air!!!