Going home to Perdiki

I have such fond memories of my Grandmother Angeliki. I remember her sweet smile the most and even now when I think of her smiling at me, it brings me comfort. I remember her always asking if I were 'tris eutuximenh'. I wish I could tell her about my life now and tell her, I am, Yiayia, I am.

Going home to Perdiki was just as much about as seeing the house where we spent such fond summers as children as about visiting Yiayia and saying hello. It had been such a long time since I visited her gravesite and brought her flowers.
The road to Perdiki was alot steeper than I remember, alot smaller than I remember (it only fit my car at times) and alot more curvy. However, when I reached Filenaspa and made the turn, my heart beat a little faster with excitement. Perdiki was absolutely the same! Look, there's Panagia church! Look, there's Ag. Marina church! Look, there's Alexi's bus! Look, the vounari and Yiayia's house!



The vounari was now a parking lot for cars and I parked my car right alongside the others. From the outside, the house looked absolutely the same but as I drew a little closer I started to see the tell tale differences. The trees looked thirsty. The garden that my Grandmother tended had weeded over and was dry and cakey. The gate to the courtyard was rusty and age worn.

One of the strongest memories I have as a child is sitting in the courtyard at a plastic table under a canopy of grapevines counting the amount of flies that had fallen prey to the fly swatter that my Grandfather would wield with deadly accuracy. The table was now gone and the grapevines were valiantly trying to bear their fruit. The visino tree that Yiayia used to make visinada from had dried up cherries. Visinada is still my favorite drink/gluko only because it reminds me of my Yiayia.

I could almost see Pappou burning the trash in the courtyard. As a kid, I thought that was the coolest thing. Who knew anything back then about dioxins. Burning paper and plastic still reminds me of that big blue metal drum that Pappou would burn everything in.

Going through the house, I could almost see Yiayia sitting by the fireplace or Theia Dina making french fries in the kitchen or Pappou smoking by the garden. What odd things memories are. They're like ghosts populating the empty background. I started to cry as I went through the house. It made me so sad to see the house so forlorn and empty. I did not stay long. I miss them so much. As much as I want to, I can't revisit the past. Ghosts, memories, there there to remind us to savor the present.