The time is 0343 hours. I awoke to total stillness. Not a sound except the creaking of this old house and the hooting of an owl. Birgitta had been speaking to me again, or it was a dream. It was worthy of sharing. Yesterday, I made an effort to see Vallby through her eyes. Surrounded by the Pines and Birches in the bright sunshine I stood in the meadow in front of the house and counted the wild flowers I could see just moving my head. I counted 14 different flowers. She could have identified most if not all of them. I guess this is what stimulated my wake up call. I awoke recalling a story she had shared many years ago. It was about a school project she was assigned over one Summer. She was to find as many wild flowers as she could. Identify them. Press them into a book and learn their Latin names and record it all for a grade in the Fall after returning to school. She told me the story because she had found the book here in the attic and wanted to share it with me. I wonder how many American children have ever been given such a project. Hopefully more than I can imagine. In the next few days my daughter Christina and I will go through the attic where we lived every summer. We will dig into the dark corners and attempt to find the treasures Birgitta has secreted here over the years. It is here she kept the memories of her youth and the treasures she bought with the intention of taking them to our home in the US. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we found that school book? If we do I will share it with you. Now I’m going back to sleep! If she lets me.
