Tommy and Eva Holmgren from Gällivare recently moved to their two sons and their families in Boden. Eva works as the head of operations at Folktandvården, verksamhetsområde norr. Tommy is a retired fireman and football veteran. Both are now enjoying being part of their grandchildren’s everyday lives in Boden.
It’s dinnertime in Holmgren’s large, bright apartment in central Boden. Grandchildren Wille, 9, and Vincent, 6, are with grandfather Tommy.
His son Magnus, a paramedic in Boden, is on leave and arrives with his third grandchild Otto, 7 months, on his arm. Magnus’ partner Amanda grew up in Boden and her job at Stegra attracted them to move back home to Norrbotten after some time in the south.
Shortly after Magnus, Eva comes home from work at Folktandvården, just a few minutes’ walk from her home, which is conveniently located between Stora Coop, the Smörblomman playground and Eva’s workplace.
– It’s so close that I can go home for lunch every day and the boys can go and buy Saturday sweets themselves,” says Eva.
Fika is served. Just like in the old days in Gällivare when everyone lived at home, there is something for everyone’s wishes, today with a focus on the grandchildren.
The other son, Dan’s wife Angelica, soon joins them. She moved here from Skåne but has lived in Boden for 15 years. She is a teacher, Dan works for the Swedish Armed Forces and is currently serving in Poland. Having her in-laws close means a lot to Angelica, not least because she is sometimes alone with the children.
– Wille walks here himself after school now. I picked up Vincent today so he could be free from preschool, he will sleep here tonight, says Tommy.
The kitchen quickly fills with chatter and laughter as the large kitchen table is filled with buns and rice krispies.
TIME AS A GRANDFATHER
Tommy enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, taking them to swimming school and attending karate and handball training. Eva, Tommy and the children often go out to do things, or buy their favorite food, have coffee and hang out at home in the apartment.
When their own children were young, Tommy was in the middle of his soccer career and they juggled work, training, camps and matches.
As a youngster, Tommy and his brother Tord were recruited to IFK Göteborg. The Holmgren brothers were two of the key players in the era when the legendary Sven-Göran “Svennis” Eriksson built up one of the most talked about Swedish football teams of all time. Four Swedish Championship golds, three Swedish Cup wins, two UEFA Cup victories, 27 international caps and 520 first team matches for IFK Göteborg, the IFK Göteborg Archangel award and the Göteborg Football Hall of Fame are among the merits that Tommy humbly does not want to make a big deal of today. But several of the players still keep in touch today, and his brother Tord and Eva’s sister remain in Gothenburg, where the Holmgrens lived for 13 years during their football careers. There they get the big city pulse when they visit, but now enjoy a quieter life in Norrbotten.
NEW STEPS THROUGH LIFE
Eva has Sami roots in the Gällivare area, Tommy grew up in Palohuornas. They became a couple in their teens and have been together throughout their lives. Eva moved with Tommy to Gothenburg and she also played football, as a goalkeeper in GAIS women’s team division two. Together they have three children, the first two of whom were born during the years in Gothenburg before moving back home to Gällivare. Tommy was also involved in football there, both as a player and youth coach for many years.
LIVE CLOSER TO CHILDREN
When all three children had grown up and left Gällivare, Tommy and Eva began to think about getting closer to their children and grandchildren. Their two sons had moved to Boden and their daughter Ellinor lives in Norway with her family.
Tommy and Eva were already often in Boden to see their children and grandchildren, Eva has several relatives here and Tommy has his father and sister in Luleå. So Boden became the goal for the next step in life, preferably a house near the children.
– But we’re in no hurry, we’re happy to wait a bit until we find the right thing, something that’s big enough when all the children are visiting, but still central,” Eva sums up.
Right now they’re enjoying the transition to an apartment and life in the city center.
– We’re enjoying it so much! It feels like there’s a friendly atmosphere here, close to everything. Everything is here and there is so much fun going on.
TELEWORKING FROM THE GROUND
Eva is grateful that she was able to continue as the operations manager for the public dental services in Kiruna, Gällivare and Pajala. She was given the opportunity to be based in Boden, which means that she has her location and administrative work here, side by side with Boden’s Public Dental Service and their operations manager.
It’s a great team that I get on so well with. I can really recommend Boden as a place to work. For me, it works very well that I go out to my areas some weeks but have the base here in Boden.
BODENS OFFERS
Tommy and Eva moved to Boden at the beginning of the year and have already done everything from Walk and Eat to Björknäsgymnasiet’s musical. Eva has joined Boden Gymnastikklubbs gym-mix. She has previously practiced dance and would love to resume it in some form here in Boden. Eventually, she also looks forward to getting involved in one of the organizations she used to belong to that are all over Sweden, to build new networks in Boden.
– We are definitely here to stay. Now we look forward to continuing to spend time with the grandchildren, eventually finding a house, maybe growing a little and doing everything you have time for in retirement.
TEXT: ANNA BERGSTRÖM
