Mixed emotions :D

Adrian is going away on a one-night's trip with his grandma, and I'm both worried, sad and proud - all at the same time! It's only for a night, and I think it is great that he wants to (it's the first time he has actually wanted to do something like that without me..) He is starting to feel independent of me, and I love it - and hate it :D Don't get me wrong - I think this is the best thing that could happen, and it is a proof that he is becoming more and more his own person. But I can't help feeling worried - he is going on a trip, what if something happens, and I'm not there to help him? Will his grandma provide for him first in a crisis? (An ugly thought, I know, but never the less it has struck my mind :D ) Will he miss me? I will certainly miss tucking him in tonight :D God - he'll probably have a great time, and talk about his experience forever, but I can't wait to have him back doing just that :D

WOW - This is a first sign for me how it will be when he is a teenager and meets his friends to party :D That's something to look forward to :D

Did the dinosaurs become angels when they died?

"Did the dinosaurs become angels when they died?" My 6 year old son popped the probably long thought for question during dinner and looked at me with anticipating eyes across the dinner table. "Why do you think that?" I asked, in order to win me some more thinking-time:D "Well, most people become angels when they grow old and die" he answered, "so I guess it would be the same for dinosaurs, or wouldn't it?" I couldn't beat the logic in that, so I ended up agreeing that it sounded very plausible indeed. I guess he got the right answer, because after giving me a pleased nod of his head, he turned his attention back to the meal.

The question asked remained with me for some time, though, because it made me realize more than anything that we as parents have a huge job in front of us regarding how we would like to raise our children not only religiously but spiritually as well.. My husband being a Muslim and myself - although being baptized in a catholic church - not really having a feeling of belonging in a religious sense, could create future problems in answering bound to come questions about life, death and not least, God himself. Sam and I have discussed the question of belief for our children a long time before either of them were even born, and we have a mutual understanding of not trying to put them in a religious category, but rather focus on giving them a helping hand in becoming decent, independent and honest human beings. I do believe that it is important for children to grow up with the assurance that if something bad happens, it is for a reason, and that God is watching over them. I am not sure that it is equal important to teach them that one religion is better and more right than another - that would create categories of people with more or less value and that is not something we want for them. But I do now realize that questions concerning what to be a Muslim and what to be a Christian entails, will come, and that we have to be prepared to answer them. I also realize that both Adrian and Julia have to learn more about Islam - if only for their own protection - because so many ignorant people will put THEM in the categories Muslim and foreigner because of their father's origin. Knowledge IS power and the only way we can help them to protect themselves from verbal attacks of others is to provide them with just that. And hopefully we'll manage to do just that.

About the dinosaurs - Adrian is a HUGE fan of these prehistoric and fascinating creatures and has been for quite some time. I think his interest started when he had just turned two, and we went to look at the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in the pre-historical museum in Oslo; he didn't dare to cross the room out of fear that the skeleton should come alive and eat him :D When he was 4 we one day went to the playground by the shore down-town and being a bit shy, he refused the offer to play from a couple of wild boys at approximately the same age. He looked around and focused on a little girl, also the same age, and started to slowly approach her. She saw him, but didn't seem too interested, so he decided to draw her attention towards him by gently whispering "do you want me to tell you something?" with a secret smile. And of course she wanted him to tell her something that seemed to be something exciting as well, and she moved towards him to listen. "Did you know", he continued using the same furtive voice "that the dinosaurs evolved into the birds we see today?" She gave him a perplex look, and moved away showing him that the conversation was over and that he had been turned down. Adrian, on the other side, stood there with a disconcerted look on his face, clearly not understanding neither the rejection nor the disinterest in the breathtaking information he had just handed over to her. It made my mother's heart bleed :D This is hopefully not the way he will try to encounter the other sex when he gets a bit older - I fear that will result in a quite similar experience on his behalf:D I love him to death!

The newcomer :D

This is my first try at having a blog, even a website..So it will be interesting to see wether I will be able to maintain the blog or not :D I sort of see it as a personal experiment, since I never managed to keep a diary when I was a teenager, even if I really wanted to have one.

Let me start by introducing myself:

I am a 33 year old (young) woman (girl:D), living in Oslo, Norway, in a tiny apartment together with the 3 persons who give me everything I need to feel alive in this changing and disturbing world we live in, namely my husband Sam and my two children Adrian and Julia, aged 6 and 1 1/2. I am partly Norwegian, through my father's family, but am born in the States and have German and Austrian origins through my mother. I have - to make the confusion perfect - chosen a lifepartner who originally comes from Iran, but is a norwegian citizen. Together we have managed to get the two greatest accomplishments in our life, namely our two children:

As for my formal background: I have a master's degree in social-anthropology, and work part-time as a teacher at the university of Oslo. My husband works for the postal services, and we also run a cantine together. Let me put in a picture of him as well :D

This is Sam, my best friend and support in life. He is the person I rely upon in every small or big problem I encounter in life, and the person who truely sees me for who I am and what I stand for. Needless to say,I love him dearly.

Ok, I guess this is enough for a start :D I don't know if I will get any comments or visitors at my blog, but that is not my aim either. I feel this is an opportunity for me to express myself in a way I havent tried before, and it is interesting for me to see where this road may lead :D