This Used to Be My Playground

Tuomo writes: Dave and I finally caught up woth our new year's resolution and (re) joined Weight Watchers. We had had all kinds of things to do on previous Saturday mornings, making attending a meeting more or less impossible. Furthermore, there was the issue of settling down and making an effort of cooking home and/or commiting ourselves to a change in lifestyle, something that WW is all about: it's not a diet - it's a lifestyle.

Not that I was very disappointed, but I weighed 216.4lbs (97.8kgs), about 15 pounds more than what I weighed in February 2007. That's pretty hefty even though I weighted a couple of pounds more when I joined WW for the first time... I look at myself in the mirror and I'm not very happy with what I see. Last year this time of the year (before we had to make the big decision to move to Canada), I had these grandiose plans that by the end of May I'd weigh around 195lbs and that by the end of the summer 185-190lbs, meaning that I'd fit in my stylish 34" jeans and look fabulous while vacationing in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Kissan kikkarat, or "cat's turds" as we say quite explicitly in Finnish - my weight went to the exact opposite direction!

In many ways it felt frustrating joining WW again and having to deal with the whole spiel that you have to listen to at the end of the first meeting: portion control, making wise decisions, exercising, yadda yadda yadda. However, I liked our presenter Wendy. I gather it had been her first time the week before, so she was a bit nervous. I kinda liked her topic too: moving and exercising not because we have to but because we like to. She made us think about what it was like as kids and what we did to move around. True, as kids we didn't run around and play games outdoors because we had to but because we could. I was also thrilled to learn that Canadians (Americans too?) have a game called kick the can, or the equivalent of purkkis; though I used to play the game of ten sticks on a board, the concept is exactly the same.

We'd play this and other games in what is today known as Pikkuhuopalahti. Until the early 1990s it used to be a waste area, and in my family we used to refer to the area as Sorsalampi, or Duck Pond because there was this dirty shallow pond where ducks would swim around and quack eagerly for pieces of bread. In terms of land formation it was ideal for all kinds of activities such as treasure hunting - not that we ever found anything, but every summer we tried our luck. We would also try building all kinds of tree houses or huts from sticks and other material we could get our hands on; usually by the end of the day though we'd be sick of the idea and would give up the idea!

I left for France to study in the fall of 1990. When I came back in early summer 1991, the area had gone through a tremendous change. No longer an area of waste land, it had become Pikkuhuopalahti, an area full of brand new family friendly houses in pastel colours and quirky architectural details. The duck pond was still there though it had moved a bit and it was in much better condition; the ducks were still there quacking away and relying on the kindness of passer-bys. One of the tram lines had also been extended to Pikkuhuopalahti, allowing me to get to the university by tram almost door to door with only one change of trams; if I planned it right I'd be able to get from home to the tram station in 1 minute 50 seconds, a feat that these days would only cause an aneurism. Riding on the tram through Pikkuhuopalahti, I couldn't help humming Madonna's song This Used to Be My Play Ground - or if I was on a more cynical mood that I was on a ride through Toon Town!

In this context, I was positively surprised a couple of days ago when I came across a music video on YouTube about Pikkuhuopalahti. It's the debut release by a new (at least to me...) singer called Pariisin Kevät "Spring in Paris," and the song is about the trials and tribulations of living in the suburbs like Pikkuhuopalahti. Interestingly, according to the singer the houses of Pikkuhuoplahti are like boxes of cookies, a metaphor not far removed from my thoughts of Toon Town!

My initial reaction to this song was that it was a bit too strange for me, but fortunately I decided to listen to it again. This time I thought that I liked it... And now I like it a lot!

OK back to Weight Watchers and connecting with my inner child (or something). I actually looked forward to babysitting Mika on Sunday. Originally the idea was to pick him up after his afternoon nap at 1pm and then take him to Stanley Park for him to run around and allow him tto be a two-year-old. Unfortunately he didn't go for his afternoon nap until 1, or moments before we got over to Tuukka and Joy's. We agreed to go run some errands and return around 2:30, but when we returned, Mika was still (!) asleep. Eventually he did wake up, and he was glad to see his favourite uncles waiting for him. We took him to the playground across the street where we spent almost an hour watching him run around and making sure he didn't get hurt in any of the swings or jungle gyms. In this respect, I got to do exactly what Wendy had recommened we do. right now my legs are tired and my cheecks feel a bit rosy form the combination of fresh air and exposure to sunshine...

In many ways I now feel like I had been a kid again running around the waste land called Sorsalampi hunting for treasures or planning for the next site and structure of a hut to play in, all energised and full of positive thoughts. Maybe this time I'll reach my goal weight - and keep it off by thinking of Pikkuhuopalahti.