home sweet home...

Waking up at home is better than shoes! After almost ten days of, admittedly, great holidays in home country I realized yesterday that all I wanted was to be home! My home! My sofa, my bed, my bathroom, my kitchen... As fate has it, my home is not in my home country. And this very often creates a confusion in my head, I say "I'm going home" when I mean "I'm going to Greece" and in all honesty I do feel like I'm going home every time I'm there, no doubt. But then I'm there and I miss "my home" which means my apartment here in "the lower lands"... and I want to come back!

Though the weather this time was surprising, to say the least, I had a great time "back home"! Family, friends, great (and ohhhhhh so much...) food, going out for drinks, watching football on a big screen TV out in a terrace while having a beer, shopping, chatting, all that was super! And then, at about a week after I got there, it started... this bug in me which made me miss home... the other home... Not that it stopped me from having a good time, no! But I just wanted to sleep in my bed and take my clothes out of my closet and brush my teeth in my bathroom... weird? mmmmm... dunno...

And today, sitting on my sofa, writing this, while having my coffee and trying to find the courage to go to work, again I have a mixed feeling... I wish I was still in Greece and I wish I was always at home... ok, does this simply mean that I wish my home was in my home country?... not exactly! It is not what I actually wish! And I don't know what I actually wish... home is where the heart is and my heart has been divided for more than ten years now and though this means that sometimes I get sad missing my "other" home, I guess I also have the privilege to just have more than one homes! And be at home in many places... which is, as said, better than shoes ;)

Spring is officially here...

...and is better than shoes!!

At first I was reluctant to believe it... I thought it was just a temporary glitch and we would go back to the cold, wet, dark place we have been for so many months. And this kinda happened a bit... But for a good two weeks now, with the culmination of these past couple of days, it looks like it is official: it's spring time again! Long, sunny days, warmer weather, flowers, people driving around in their convertibles, new green leaves of the tree brunches, yep, it looks like we can now relax and enjoy it!

For years I would not pay attention to the changes of the seasons... I mean, not consciously. I would feel better when the summer would approach but I would not make the connection that what really uplifted my mood was the rebirth of the nature, the awakening after the long, cold winter. But now I do see it and feel it and, no doubt, I long for it! I look forward to the time I have to rearrange my closet and put away the heavy coats, thought it is not really a job I enjoy truth be told, and to take my ballerinas out of their boxes -where they have been asleep for months- and have them ready to slip on in the morning to go to work. Without socks!! I look forward to start walking home from the office, all 6.5Km of it, and enjoy the late afternoon sunshine. I other words, I look forward to what is already here :)

And I feel like a kid who's wishes came true! No question about it, though, it is also the time to check out the spring shoe collections (and perhaps indulge in a new pair...) but the true gift is spring itself! So, go out and enjoy it anyway it tickles your fancy :) As for me, I think I will be having a cold drink outside somewhere after work... who knows, I might I see you there ;)

PS. Happy Easter holidays to all of you!

What love is...

...some people say is not easy to define. I disagree. Love is easy. Love is care. Care about the other person, about what they want, how they see things, where they are in their life, what makes them happy, what makes them sad, what do they like to eat and which movies they enjoy, what makes them laugh and what could make them cry. That's it. It took me quite sometime to realise it, but it is that simple. Once you care about someone in the above manner, then, chance are you love them. There is no big drama in it, there are no fireworks, no big signs. Just care...

And, in my view, there should be no conditions... no rules, no pre-set criteria like "I will care about you only if you care about me, if you are tall, handsome, rich, great cook and amazing lover, good in maths and tennis and piano, a socialist, a christian, a fan of my football club..." or whatever! No. I care about you because I care, because obviously you are the kind of person with such qualities that made me care about you and even if I cannot identify those one by one, the fact that I care about you is an absolute truth that you, in my book, deserve my care.

So this is how I care... or love... and I don't have to worry about showing it or proving it because, well, the demonstration and the proof are already within it! When one cares about us we all know, no need for declarations, no need for further proof. And when someone doesn't, we also know. The simplest explanation tends to be the right one, so when someone does not care, don't try to figure out if they love you. They don't. So, don't waste you time, don't push it... just accept it...and move on with your life... surely, there are people in it for whom you care and some you know they care about you... sometimes it even happens to be mutual.... and that is better than shoes! ;)