The “Potato” story – the manager’s compliment that became a symbol of flexibility and resilience -

Two days ago, I said to my husband:

“Look, there’s a place where you can pick potatoes. I’ve never done that in Norway.“

He says: “Well, then you can just go.“

But I think:

How am I supposed to go alone?

Today, on the way home from the competition with medals, we suddenly drive past that exact field (Nojus won). I say: “I knew it—God exists!“

My husband says: “Go and pick.“

So I went. Without gloves.

With one Kiwi bag.

After a while, Nojus comes and says:

“𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐦𝐨𝐦!“

So yes… I picked 12 kg of potatoes, and now I am satisfied and calm.

And I even got to meet an incredibly nice lady. They sell potatoes all the time, so now I also know where to find good, local potatoes.

Sometimes life sets things up just right for you. Then you just have to say:

“𝐎𝐊, 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭. 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨“ Today I suddenly had a little flashback.

Once I had a manager who described me as a “potato.“

I remember that I actually had to look up what he meant by that.

And the more I read about the expression, the more I understood that it was actually quite a big compliment.

A “potato“ can be used for many things. It is adaptable, it fits into many different contexts, and it is simply versatile.

When a manager says to you:

“𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐚, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨,“

it can actually mean:

𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑡. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.

And it’s actually a very nice compliment to receive.

Today we suddenly drove past a potato field. I looked at the field and thought:

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧.

So I went out and picked potatoes. 12 kilos, actually.

And while I stood there, I remembered that old story and the former manager who once described me with that exact word.

Sometimes old memories pop up in the most unexpected places.

Today mine came back, in the middle of a potato field.

27.09.2026