Monday 11 September 2006

PASSING THOUGHT

As in previous years, when I arrived in Emporios, I took off and stopped my watch…


Unfortunately, time did not stand still and a month has passed even without watching the watch…

Everyone is conscious of our forthcoming departure: George spent some time yesterday evening reflecting on the nature of time and the relative speed or slowness of its passing and Themelis was driven off to Pothia in order to start school today so we have already said farewell to the wild-boy of Emporios.

It took no less than three series of goodbye hugs and kisses - spread out across half-an-hour - before he could be finally prised into the car! “When you are friends,” he told us, “you must have lots of kisses!”

So, the sense of departure has now begun and even the sound of the sea breaking on the shore, to which I awoke this morning, has assumed a melancholy note…

Emily Dickinson understood all too clearly why such moments make us feel what as we do when she wrote of the nature of life...



"That it will never come again
is what makes life so sweet..."
















[Footprints image: David Weeks]

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Can't believe it's nearly a month since you left. Have enjoyed holidaying vicariously through your daily updates. That sense of melancholy is no fun (it hit me really hard on my last day in New Zealand) but one advantage of time passing so quickly is that before you know it it'll be next year and another chance to return for a month :)