Figure skating taught Anne-Mari Jussila to fall and get up without feeling embarrassed

When somebody asks her how she is, Anne-Mari Jussila is not afraid to say straight out that she is keeping busy.
 
– It's kind of terrible though: you're not allowed to talk about being busy these days, she says.

As a can-do kind of person, having lots of irons in the fire inspires her. Rather than stressing her out, it is something that keeps her alive. Her hands and brain must have something to do.

– I'm not a person who buys into downshifting. I can't see myself doing yoga, I'd rather choose a fast-paced group exercise class. I'm not good at being idle. When I'm not doing something, I sleep.

Jussila’s children are aged 20, 18 and 11. The family's pleasant weekday evening could consist of Mum hoovering the car while the children are doing their own thing in the garden. Lucky the dog runs around, and at some point one of the children goes inside to make snacks for everyone.

Kummola persuaded Jussila to go into politics

While serving as Deputy Mayor of Education and Culture Services, Jussila is on leave of absence from her job as the Headmistress of Kalevan Lukio upper secondary school.

She first dreamed of going to the School of Business after her own upper secondary school years but ended up in the teacher education programme instead, specialising in PE and health education. In her student days she started feeling at home in sports administration.

Since then, Jussila has held positions of trust both at club level and in national sports organisations. At meetings that prepared for a merger between sports organisation Valo and the Olympic Committee she got to know Kalervo Kummola, who persuaded her to stand for the municipal election. This marked the start of her career in local politics.

– I've been through great many universities of life, although only one of them was literally a higher education institution. Work in sports organisations was one, local politics a second one, and family life with its twists and turns the third one. I always meet a new challenge with enthusiasm, because you learn by doing, Jussila says.

Normal daily life helps cope with grief

Jussila has been living on the east side of Tammerkoski for almost all her life, most recently in Vehmainen, but three years ago the family decided to up sticks. They found their dream home – without a large garden that would require too much work – in Pispala.

– Life was so busy that we didn’t want to have bad conscience about never getting around to yard work.

Soon after the move, the family's life fell apart. Anne-Mari’s spouse, Kari Jussila, became ill and died of brain cancer last December.

While her grief surfaces from time to time, Jussila finds that carrying on with normal daily life helps her and the children get a grip on their new life situation. They have their jobs, school and hobbies, and her eldest recently completed military service.

A figure skater is used to falls

Ice rinks are a world in which Jussila feels at home. At a younger age she competed at the national level in her hobby, figure skating, and served as a judge in this sport in her student days.

– Between the ages of 2 and 30, I lived my life in skating rinks, and even today I recognise Finnish towns by their ice rinks, she says.

Jussila believes that she adopted her active take on life while engaging in a sport that required strict commitment. Figure skating also taught her to fall – and pick herself up.

– I've taken a lot of falls in my life. Now that I am older, I'm quite used to life tripping me up at times. You just pick yourself up and get going again.

Jussila still has friends she made in her training group, and she also holds positions of trust in the skating world.

Jussila finds making new friends is easy, even as an adult. Similar interests bring people together.

– To be honest, in my life situation you have very little time for friends. And this is not just about a job with a lot of responsibility but also everyday life with three children and our family's situation.

Jussila describes figure skating as a sport that combines exercise and art. This is why cultural services feel like a natural part of her life.

Her favourites are visual arts, theatre and especially dance theatre. In her work, Jussila wants to make visible the efforts of the numerous cultural actors in the city.

– A lot is happening in Tampere, and many pearls are easy to miss.