JuliDockey

Történetek és Tanulás

Story of Susanna

From Finland

Dear Julia, 

thank for your interest! Your story and how you learn new skills today added how you made your website are so inspirational. Unfortunately, I find it difficult to write a story, but I got an idea. So here the story is:

I’m a 45-year-old from Kuopio, born and raised here in the heart of Northern Savo, where the lakes reflect the sky and the forests whisper our history. For me, sauna isn’t just a room or a habit—it’s like breathing, something so deep in my bones I can’t imagine life without it. It’s been part of me since I was a kid, sitting on the wooden benches in my mummo’s old wood-fired sauna down by the lake, the kind that smells of birch and smoke and feels like it’s hugging you tight.

In the forest, on a green clearing, there is a red cottage with two small and one larger white window. There are trees on the left and in the background. Smoke is coming out of the chimney. A very low, gray structure can also be seen in front of the cottage, perhaps an outdoor storage shed. On the right, in the middle, a small piece of the blue roof of a building hangs into the picture. The sky is blue with few clouds.
Sauna from outside

Sauna is where I find my calm. After a long day—maybe I’ve been at the office or out fixing something on the land—the heat just melts the weight off my shoulders. You step in, and the world outside fades. The hiss of water on the stones, the way the steam rises and wraps around you, it’s like the forest itself is breathing with you. I use a *vihta*, always, those birch branches we tie together in summer. The smell when you slap it on your skin, it’s like bringing the woods inside. It’s not just about getting clean; it’s about feeling alive, scrubbing away the stress, the cold, the noise in your head.

The interior of a sauna. The picture shows wood paneling everywhere. The floor, ceiling, seating, and reclining areas are all wood. Only the door frame is sky blue. There are two steps in the middle leading to the reclining area. Underneath is a shelf with several dark blue storage containers and dipping utensils. To the left of the door is a partially visible seating area.
The interior of a sauna.

It’s also where I connect. With my kids, who’ve learned to love the heat as much as I do, or with my mates when we sit there, towels on, maybe a beer in hand, talking about life or just sitting quiet. No one’s pretending in the sauna—you’re all just people, raw and real. My husband and I, we’ve had our best talks there, no phones, no distractions, just us and the warmth. And growing up, it was where my dad taught me about hard work and resilience, not with words but with the way he’d sit there, steady, letting the heat do its work.

Rear part of an externally heated sauna The rear part of the sauna is visible. This is where the heating takes place. Everything is made of wood. There are some tools next to the wall, e.g., an axe. In the upper right corner, pine branches hang down toward the roof.
Rear part of an externally heated sauna

Here in Kuopio, with our long winters, sauna is a lifeline. When it’s -20°C and the dark feels like it’s swallowing you, that little wooden room is a fire in your soul. It’s where I go to think, to pray in my own way, to feel like I’m part of this land. We’ve got a small sauna at home, but I still love the old lakeside one at my parents’ place—wood-fired, creaky, perfect. It’s where we celebrated my daughter’s birth, where we toasted my brother’s wedding, where we sat in silence after my grandfather passed. Sauna holds all those moments.

The open back door of the sauna is visible. This is where the heating takes place. On the left is a small fire, above it smoke and a sooty roof. Everything is made of wood.
Externally heated sauna

I’d say sauna is what keeps me grounded, keeps me Finnish. Without it, I’d be half a person, missing that warmth that’s not just in my body but in my heart. It’s home, plain and simple.

The dog who loves the sauna A dark brown, long-haired dog stands in a room. He looks content. In front of him, on the floor, is a colorful toy duck. Gray-toned, single-color, checkered or houndstooth rugs. One of them is crumpled. In the background on the right, on a small cabinet, there is a TV showing competitors in blue jerseys. In front of them are two objects that look like open laptops. On the right side of the picture is a brown glass cabinet, which reflects the TV image.
The dog who loves the sauna

Written by artificial intelligence Grok Android 1.0.30

Checked and approved by Susanna

I think this story is pretty good and it is all I can give you at the moment. Grok made it very quickly.

Warm regards

Susanna from Finland

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