I spent the weekend in the Stockholm archipelago, eating crayfish at Jens’ family cottage.
It’s been a long time since I was in the archipelago. I had forgotten how clean and soft the air smells there in autumn.
The idea was to have a traditional crayfish party. And I think we succeeded, with the crayfish and the bread and the schnapps and weird hats, even though people didn’t get very drunk and the conversation mostly revolved around things like gender roles and internet habits and how our taste in music might or might not change as we get older, with Swedish jazz playing in the background.
When all the crayfish were eaten, we moved into the living room, and while some of us started roasting marshmallows in the open fire, Puccini’s heroines were singing out their heartache in the background.
Roasting marshmallows and listening to opera. We’ve certainly become older, even though we might not really want to admit that to ourselves yet.
Katja Malmborg 