The Sign

Legendary Swedish pop group Ace of Base once sang “I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes, I saw the sign”.

Now I am almost certain that the song does not refer to the same sign in my road that this blog is about. Though I could be wrong.

When we moved into our neighbourhood just under 6 years ago, I remember seeing a lovely strikingly blue sign, stating “Turvei”.

These signs are quite commonly found up and around the woods. But it is what the sign represents which I like. It marks the entrance from suburban housing into nature and adventure.

As you would imagine over the years and in the harsh climate the sign has somewhat lost its’ fresh look.

I pass the sign each and every morning whilst jogging with the buggy on my way to drop the kids at kindergarten.

On countless occasions I have thought to myself that when I get a spare moment I must try and clean it up. And yet life is ever so busy.

Actions speak louder than words (or thoughts for that matter)!

Well today, whilst staying home from walks with my sick daughter, we made time to go and start the job.

I had underestimated quite how dirty the sign was, and so after 10 minutes of scrubbing I had run out of kitchen roll. And my captive (strapped into buggy) audience was getting impatient to go see the ducks at Sognsvann (spoiler alert: we never found them).

But as with so many things in life, the most important thing is to start. Momentum will take care of the rest.

If you see something dirty, broken or out of place, don’t ignore it or wait for others to fix it. Don’t assume that the council (kommune) should come and do it….. Just find a moment, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Call it your Community Service…. A private “dugnad” for your neighbourhood.

Doggies: Pippi, Twist, My, Amazona and Hedda