travelphotos

My Goldilocks Moments

How you dream of places when you’re not there! It’s hard to remember that this moment right now is just right. This is a future memory, make the most of it.

It’s like kids trying on clothes in the morning before school:

“These joggers are too big.”

“These joggers are too small.”

“These joggers aren’t just right, but they’ll do!”

“Wait a minute! These new joggers just became my favorite!” my gymnast kid proclaims. And then does a cartwheel, the ultimate test. Yes, they do the trick!

His brother has trouble dressing for the weather, as his mind is always in a different season.

The same kid who, in perfectly nice Finnish summer weather of 26°C, says it’s too cold to swim and wants to dress in layers then happily goes out to play football in 14°C rain wearing shorts and a tshirt. Do kids get cold? It depends on what the day’s plan is!

My mind drifts back to the Antibes of my photos. Dreamy moments. My gymnast kid’s mind goes in another direction:

”I saw a snake so small that he probably thought he was a worm. He was in the city. The small city snake politely waited before crossing the road.” (The End.)

I love storytelling and Goldilocks is definitely based on real life! The bears represent the family members that go with the flow, while Goldie is a Star and deserves no less than the princess who slept on top of a pea. But these things happen in real life, too. We are all Goldilocks at some point.

Every time I take the tram, I have to buy a ticket at the tram stop. There are no paper tickets: it’s done on an app that directs you to another app where you pay using your Face ID. As you can imagine, this is extremely slow (takes multiple seconds!) and usually I can see the tram coming while I anxiously wait for the electronic ticket to appear on my phone, accompanied by a reassuring swish sound.

But the Face ID is very “Goldilocks.” For it to recognise me, I have to tell myself, “Look alive!” and put on a neutral expression. No smile, no sunglasses, no squinting at the sun, no visible distress from the process or from seeing the tram getting closer and closer, and definitely no double chin. The angle of the phone must be just right! The eyes must be as open as possible! Look directly at the camera and hold! When all the circumstances are just right, the magic happens and I get my ticket.

Meanwhile, the Antibes of my memories continues its eternal summer.

The photos are from Antibes, France, June 2026.