"Our family life, in a sense, is like based on us doing significant things"

Outi is a PhD, but life led her to politics and, finally, to being a Member of Parliament. Atro is the co-director of Rovaniemi Town Theatre. When Atro is on office duty he spends his weeks in Rovaniemi, but shared leadership makes it possible for him to occasionally work from home.

At the times when the parents' work keeps them busy in the evenings or during the weekends, a circle of close friends is a great help. However, Outi and Atro aim at scheduling their lives in a way that enables them to spend as much time as possible with Jalmari, 14, and Kaarina, 11.

Outi and Atro balance out their busy working lives by spending time together with their children and their dog, often out in the nature. During the summer Outi also rents a garden plot. In their free time, the children enjoy sports, music and the company of their friends.

"We are really enthusiastic about picking mushrooms and berries and fishing, so yeah we do a great deal of fishing. Actually, like, whatever the season, we'll always find a way to fish.”

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Outi woke up first, made oatmeal for the family and began to prepare herself for the day. The light therapy lamp in the kitchen made the dark and mizzly morning a little brighter: the temperature was finally above zero. After breakfast Outi rushed for the bus which took her to the metro station. She had to make it to the city by eight.

Atro was up early, too. He wouldn't have to hurry anywhere today. This was a period during which he could stay home and work on the manuscript for a play set for autumn premiere. There was one meeting scheduled for today, however, but it would take place at home. Still, the very first thing to do was to take Eppu the dog out for a walk.

Jalmari ja Kaarina heräsivät hekin, söivät puuronsa ja lähtivät kouluun: Jalmari pian Outin jälkeen, Kaarina tuntia myöhemmin.

Atro's day proceeded peacefully, he had the time to write, to make a few phone calls and make some coffee. Outi's day, on the other hand, was packed with programme: meetings, a plenary session and a radio interview. In the afternoon she would also attend the Challenges for Muslims or Muslims as a challenge seminar at the National Museum.

The youngsters of the family had an ordinary day at school. Jalmari had for example Chemistry lessons where the class got to make salty liquorice. Kaarina's school was being renovated so some of the lessons were held in a modular school building. Kaarina had Finnish, English and Music lessons, among others.

After school Kaarina came home with a bunch of friends. They walked Eppu and watched the previous day's episode of a popular soap opera on the net.

The girls had come up with the idea about baking already at school. Before they got down to work they had to go buy the ingredients. Atro went along as the driver and the sponsor.

While Outi sat in the National Museum auditorium preparing for the panel discussion at the Muslim seminar, the girls were already baking away. The girls were skilled cake-makers and the outcome was delicious.

Before the children went off to their hobbies, Atro cooked a quick dinner. After the meal Kaarina left to spend her evening at the parish cooking club. Today they would make meat balls, mashed potatoes and French toast for dessert. Jalmari would spend his evening at the youth centre.

Outi's seminar at the National Museum ended at 6 p.m. and then she could go home. First she took the metro and then the bus. She was home at 7 p.m.

"There are some things that must be done or you have to have taken care of, like for example buying the groceries or cleaning up or walking the dog, like, they form a part of your life, the everyday life. They're sort of the kind of duties that must be done." -Outi

Thoughts about everyday life

"The border between work and leisure is very vague, so that it always stretches all the way towards the night so you sort of check on the kids with one eye." -Atro

"I'll do just that, I'll buy the groceries once a week and then I buy various things to fill the freezer and brim the cupboard with various ingredients so you can find the stuff you need to prepare the food you like." -Outi

"Well yeah we've like always had the thing that we ought to empty the dish washer and fill it and, but we don't usually fill it, so we don't really always remember it, so funnily enough we forget it. But like we do always take out the rubbish and that so we take the dog out and that kind of things. Your normal stuff." - Kaarina

"I think it's an adequate counterbalance to just get to be home with the children, and just be there." -Outi

"I wish I could raise my kids so that the children have the chance to grow up like, somehow, according to their own characteristics. So that the talent the kids have, right, it would like fulfill itself -- that the children would feel they're accepted the way they are." -Outi