Goodbye Sun, Goodbye Moon...

"I'm leaving, on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...." June 14, and the time has come to pack our bags, clean up the house, say goodbye to Eeyore, Billy, the wise old owl, spectacular sunrises and sunsets, and of course -- the deep blue sea. I definitely had a moment of introspection as we closed the gate to the big house on the hill, in Greece. Knowing that this time and place will now just become a fleeting memory. A memory that will come and go periodically during my lifetime. And, when that moment comes, I will get a little stirring from within my heart, spreading throughout my body, like a tiny warm current that will most likely trigger a pause, a big smile, and then a deep sigh. Driving away, I quietly gazed out the window at the scenery of box-shaped houses, and bushes of brightly colored flowers that dart in and out of the seascape, I wonder if I will ever return. I'm not sure if I would want to replace the virgin memories we gathered here. But, seriously, is there a more beautiful place on this earth? Picture the United States, with the seascape of the east coast on one side and the west coast on the other. Take out the flat lands and the dry plains and leave in the Rocky Mountains. Play with the borders a bit by pulling some in and others out. Some forming rocky cliffs and others forming gentle foothills. You could even pull a piece completely away here and there and leave it floating. Then surround this whole area with water. Not just any water. The kind of water you would add azure blue bath salts to -- the whole bottle. Take out the harsh winters and bring in the southern climate with its tropical plants and flowers, but not so much humidity. Then reduce it to the size of Colorado and go back in time 60 years. That is Greece. It has a rural mentality of small towns crowded with small shops that are packed with what they believe to be modern supplies. Connect these small towns by narrow roads paved with blacktop laid in a non-cohesive fashion, with many twists and turns. I mean this figuratively as well. The whole country seems to be an oxymoron of ultra-modern and Victorian Chic, tied in with 70's rock. There is such a difference in mentality between Greece and America. It is hard to make the call as to whether or not one way of living is better than the other. Maybe it isn't my call to make.


So moving on.... life had become quite predictable for us recently. Get up. Decide whether or not we wanted to go to the beach or just hang around. Decide when to eat and when to sleep. Well, no worries. If you wait long enough, something can change all that just enough to remind you that you are not in complete control. After arriving at the Kalamata Airport, we noticed that something was a little strange. There was nothing going on. After a short search, we found the Aegean Air desk and explained to the three people in the entire airport, that we were to catch a flight to Athens in one hour. They proceeded to explain to us that that particular flight had been taken off their schedule several weeks before. Okay.... so what do we do now and how do we catch our connecting flight to London, which was leaving at 1:30? Oh... well... "didn't they notify you?" "No." "Did you check the flight status?" "Yes. Online. But there was no way to find the information regarding this particular flight. We assumed all was okay." (You know what they say about A s s U M e ing!) Long story short... they provided a taxi to drive us to Athens, canceled our 1:30 and put us on a 7:30 flight to London. Frustration was mounting. However, we have been in Greece far too long to raise our blood pressure beyond the below normal point. We graciously accepted their offer, stepped into a cab and proceeded with the three hour drive. Which actually turned out to be a pleasant surprise, reinforcing my description of a country blessed with beauty and character.

After a 5-hour wait and buckled in our multi colored, chevron patterned foam seats of Olympic Airlines, we lifted off. As the mountains that surrounding Athens passed below the plane and the turquoise blue water faded into the evening sky, I asked FL how he felt about leaving the land of his forefathers. He responded in his ever-so-classic way..... "I didn't have 4 fathers, I only had 1"! (He will have to blog his true feelings later). Jonathan and I did a "bro handshake" connecting knuckles. Then thanking God for a beautiful experience, we did our cross. London, here we come!