Winter has arrived in Finland, where my youngest son has decided to set down his roots. Finland gets a bad rap for being a country that has 6 months of night and 6 months of day. That is inaccurate. One does get daylight for a few hours in the deepest winter months albeit a gray day, still it is not night.

Alright that might be called nitpicking but rather than focus on what color the day is, one learns to appreciate the dramatic light, crisp winter air and the character of the capital city Helsinki. 

During the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, there would be snow on the ground and the reflected light makes the city look like the winter wonderland that it is. My son was born in the winter and the instructions from the midwife were, “Don’t take the baby out when it’s below -10 °.” For God’s sake, I wouldn’t let myself out at -10°.

But we do go out with his stroller, and it is so quiet and peaceful I can hear the crunch of the snow against my boots. We get a break from the snow by ducking into the neighborhood café and are welcomed by a warm toasty room filled with the smell of coffee and cinnamon rolls. The park is laced with frozen river waters and one might spot an occasional ice skater or two. Toddlers enjoy clambering up the small snow hills and slide down with little plastic snow sleds. 

To truly enjoy the winter, it is just a matter of equipment, equipment, equipment. The right shoes, hats and gloves. I forgot my gloves once and was too lazy to walk back to fetch them. I never forgot my gloves again!

Our walks sometimes extend to the center of town where we can watch the ice breakers doing their work on the frozen Baltic sea. (Yes, the sea freezes). Once I observed workers digging up the sidewalks along the main esplanade and asked, “what’s happening?” They were installing water pipes underneath so the hot water supply would go through them and melt the snow. Made me think of EDSA – jeez what a contrast. 

We can take the tram at all times of the day and in any kind of weather. The buses are so efficient you set your watch to the bus schedules. Mothers with babies in prams travel free in all public transport. No one is ever late in Finland. 

Santa Claus by the way, lives in Finland, in Rouvaniemi, capital of Lapland, is within the Arctic Circle. Look it up. You can take a tour. Lapland is also famous for viewing the Aurora Borealis which lately have been making mysterious appearances in Helsinki and other cities around the world.

Despite the winter month temperatures going down to -20° in the city (Lapland is another story where it can go down to -50°),  Finland continues to rank number 1 as the happiest country in the world! 

Finns themselves wonder about this but as a foreigner I can understand why. Education and health care are free; there is also a strong culture and artistic sense and a reliable public transport system. These remove a lot of stress. No surprises. No dramas. Yes, it can be boring at times but heck, I’ll take peace and calm anytime over the quad committee hearings at the House of Representatives.

And so this is Christmas

Christmas is among the top 10 highest stressors, right up there with moving and a death in the family. 

The character of Christmas had changed in my household over the years. When the boys got married, Christmas Eve was spent with the in-laws and I had them over for Christmas Day. With my youngest son having moved to Finland, I was faced with the prospect of being alone on Christmas Eve. 

I thought maybe a traveler size Taittenger champagne and some cheese while watching Love Actually? Hmmm not a good look. Then! The AHA moment! The sisterakas!

My cousin Joji had been going on and on about her sisterakas. I asked, what does it mean? “We just call ourselves that.” A tight- knit group of friends who held her up with their love and support during the wake of her mother.

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“It’s actually a movie of Vice Ganda,” she said.

“Did you know RAKAS means love in Finnish?”

“Ah so its sisterly-love then!”

My son in Finland doubted very much if Vice Ganda knew this when he coined the term, but you never know, let’s not judge.

In Beuttner’s Blue Zones, four women in Okinawa banded together to support each other emotionally and financially if needed. It’s called Maoi, a support group, if you will, a key aspect to a long healthy life.

I realized that when I launched myself onto the principles of the Blue Zones, I deliberately expanded my network of sisterakas, maoi or however you want to call it. I enjoy my very own Joy Luck Club, the Philippine Tournament Bridge Association, the WE CARE charity, the locker room banter with fellow dancers at the gym, childhood and work friends who never wavered in their love and schoolmates who can still rock a karaoke.

So that’s it then. I will be spending Christmas Eve merienda cena with my sisterakas cousin Joji and my big extended family there and will set a table for my sons (I still have family left here) for our traditional Christmas Day fare. 

Empty-nester blues begone as I welcome my autumn years in the Blue Zone. – Rappler.com

Bing Caballero returns to the literary scene after a long hiatus. She may be remembered for Ishmael Bernal’s Broken Marriage (Urian best screenplay with Jose Carreon) and her Palanca Award for Poetry Songs in Three Continents. The column’s name was inspired by Dan Beuttner’s work on the world’s blue zones.