In The Beginning

This story really begins in San Francisco. I lived there when one sunny day I met a professor from an East Coast university who was in The City to attend a conference. Within minutes, I felt I'd known him all my life. When he returned home and sent me a photo of himself with his adorable grandson, the deal was sealed. Although I loved my live in San Francisco, enjoyed an active social life with friends and family, had my own thriving consulting business and owned a great house with panoramic views, a fantastic garden and a bubbly hot tub, it all paled in comparison to my desire to be with him every waking minute. In less than a year, I had picked up sticks and moved to frosty Boston. Little did I suspect that this would jump start a massive redirection of my career, my interests, my friendships and that gradually, life on a Greek island would take shape.

Lest this all seem like an amazing fantasy, I must put in a plug for the power of intentions. For years, I dated men who did not match up to what I wanted in a man or in a serious relationship. When My Greek came along, I forgot about the list. Only after finding the "list of requirements in a mate" while re-cycling files several years later did it hit me square in the face that he was a perfect match, item for item. I was completely taken aback at how intentions can operate in the background as a powerful shaping force.

For decades, I had traveled to Italy and experienced strong resonance with the countryside, the culture, the food, the people. I learned to speak Italian, made Italian friends, painted my living room in Italian villa colors, had a boyfriend in Milano, learned to cook mouth-watering Italian dishes, spent a month in Venice each year and so on. I thought I was headed to Italy!

I'd never even been to Greece. After the first trip with My Greek (MG) to his hometown of Athens, I remembered that, prior to my dalliance with Italy, Greece had been my first true love. As a small girl I read, studied and knew everything there was to know about Greek mythology. I read Greek history, tried to copy and memorize the alphabet. Later, as a teen and young woman playing a constant game of "hard to get" I'd laugh coyly and say that I only would marry a man who promised to take me to a Greek island on our honeymoon. No one made such a promise, so I moved on to things Italian. Only after MG and I decided to build a house in Greece these many decades later, did I recall that long forgotten phrase and the laugh with which I tossed it out. This intention took a while to play itself out, but I'm running with it now!