The Swedish Word for Joy
I begged off 2000 Census training and rushed up the windowless stairs of the cheap-paneled church basement. Our rusty pickup navigated muddy roads rutted with sun-gleaming rivulets of melting snow.
My husband boiled maple syrup, pouring barrels full with our family’s gold. Toddler daughter and I napped in our sunny bedroom. Dreaming, she sighed and spread her arms and legs starlike, ruddy cheeks polished with a sugary patina from sugarhouse condensation.
Our tiny girl wore a cousin’s lime-green hand-me-down sweatshirt, kärlek painted in pink over her chest. In those pre-Google days, I didn’t yet know the Swedish word for joy.
Photo Credit: John Lillis
Kärlek actually means “Love” in Swedish
This story is so beautiful, each word creating image after image. So well done!
An absolutely beautiful story. You’ve touched this reader with kärlek.
Sweet, in every sense of the word!
Beautiful and vivid! I was totally there with y’all.