Moa has started Förskola (Swedish daycare) this week, and even if only for a few hours a day, I now have the mornings to myself. I dress her warm, following the Swedish clothing way, layer on layer, and we walk through the pretty streets of our new neighbourhood towards the preschool building, seven minutes away from home. I play with her in their garden, and then I say goodbye and they take her to play inside. It is such a strange feeling, leaving your child and walking back home with an empty stroller. Everything seems intoxicated with a calming yet foreign silence. 

They send me pictures of her. She dances with the teachers, plays with the other children. It really warms my heart, that she is her very own person and can find joy even if away from us. It is also so needed for myself, to get these moments back, even though I miss her. It feels like we both grow in different and separate ways, but knowing with absolute certainty that there is nothing more than seven minutes keeping us apart.