I Never See You

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I Never See You

“I never see you!” is a common greeting of locals when I venture into my hometown. There is some truth in that statement. Only ten miles from our home, it is geographically close. However, multiple changes in the past eight years have transformed it into a distance of great expanse in my current life. Those changes have been positive. I am content in all things.

I stay busy with our patch of green acres, family and friends, and travel throughout the year. Spring is celebrated and moves aside for the hot summer. Fall is welcomed for its cool weather of vibrant colors. Winter barges in with its frigid temperatures. Now into a deep freeze, it is the time to be inside and post photos from the latest travels.

In my elementary school years, my mother took my siblings and me to my grandparents’ home for a visit over spring break. I packed my geography book so that I had something to read. It was a vacation, but one that fit into routines that had to be followed. One of those was the upkeep of the perfect hairstyle. As my mom teased, smoothed, and sprayed my grandmother’s hair into stiff submission, I sat in the fog of hairspray with my book. I was mesmerized by a photo of Greece. The calm blue skies, tropical plants, and rugged rocks were far from where I sat, but the little me of secrets and dreams hoped to visit it.

Decades later, in the dental chair and disliking it, I used the subject of travel to distract my screaming brain. When I asked my friend and dentist about his favorite place during his travels, he quickly replied, “Turkey.” My brain ceased screaming as it focused on his descriptions and filed the visions with those of Greece.

When I saw an itinerary of Athens, Greece to Istanbul, Turkey, that little girl with her book moved into action. Once again, I was mesmerized. Repeatedly. Over and over again. I snapped photos to share with family and post here, but they will never share what I felt in my heart and mind. Nor can I grasp the words for it at this time. So, enjoy the photos as I process the experience. Perhaps the words will come some day and find their way here in the midst of the chainsaws and hot dogs.

In the meantime, I am content in fuzzy slippers as I nibble on Turkish Delight, admire the hand stitched artwork from Greece, and hold my grandson’s chubby hands.

Viking Star – Athens, Heraklion, Rhodes, Ephesus, Troy, Istanbul

May your days be blessed and troubles few.

–Kathy

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