Coming Home

Some places – no matter how far flung – mysteriously feel like home. Why do we connect with some destinations and not others? What is it that makes a place feel "right"? 

While I can usually articulate the rationale behind what makes the places I love, the truth is there's something more that happens for me at an energetic level, something I connect with. As with people, the places we love are more than the sum of their parts and for irrational reasons, we fall in love.

When it comes to special places around the world, I suppose I'm polyamorous. I love Bali, and Singapore, and Laos, and Patmos and Istanbul. And France – especially Cannes. How could I ever choose? I love them for such different reasons, in different ways. But for whatever reason, I found myself wanting my own piece of Patmos. And as of March 15, I have one. 

It's not big – a small, two-bedroom, one-bath 1000 square foot freestanding house with a sizable yard. The house is conveniently located in the middle of Skala, but hidden in plain sight – just  off the main "street" tucked behind a cafe and a pizzeria. In fact, in the days before my appointment to see the house back in May 2022, I simply couldn't find it. When the previous owner showed it to me, I thought we were walking down the side alley of the cafe, not along a path leading to a home. Then, what can actually be described as a secret garden appeared with a house beyond it. Large porch, built-in BBQ, lush yard, well-water, American dishwasher and both a washer and dryer are a few of the surprising perks. However, the understated and easily overlooked gem is the flat roof accessible by exterior staircase. Not only does the house essentially have an extra common space right on top, but it comes with the rights to add another story – a future chapter waiting to unfold.

No year seems more perfect than to "come home" to my favorite Greek island. In 2019, our family spent an incredible summer on Patmos. It feels so long ago in so many ways. Luckily, the kids haven't forgotten it and the idea of our own house on Patmos excites them. They now say they have three houses – Mommy's, Daddy's in Westlake Village and our new house in Patmos. It makes my heart happy in a way.

Having lived in Bali for two and a half years, I know that a house in another country, culture and construction style comes with a learning curve. We'll arrive at a house with furniture kindly left by the previous owners. Over time, we'll transform it – new furniture, decor, style, kitchenware – and probably something else I can't predict. Our new home may not feel like home right away. Of course, that's where the memories are made – the story of how what we walked into became the thing it would be for us. The story of our adventure, life and home in a different and special place will be one that includes how we made it ours and all twists and turns of the process.

Will this new house be where Sennen and/or Ailyn one day go to celebrate the summer after they graduate high school or college? Will it be where they visit me when I begin spending more time on Patmos? Will it be where they bring a future spouse for a romantic getaway? Will it be an integral part of their childhood stories and one of the places whose textures leaves an indelible mark on them? I hope "yes" to all of these.

But for now, it'll be the place we show up with sheets and towels I bought on Amazon – and a test kit for the well-water. 

To add to the adventure, my mom will come for the first twelve days on the adventure and the kids and I will stay another week more. Then we'll go back to Westlake, have a few more days together, and after I hand them off to Emily for her half of summer break, I'll return to Patmos for another five weeks.

What will it be like? It's the question that contains so many questions. What will it be like to have our own house? To fix it up? To have my mom on the trip? To have my mom and not Emily? To have our first international trip no longer as the family we were? To figure out who we are and will be? To be somewhere the kids are familiar with – but a pandemic ago? 

What I do know is some of the kids' preliminary thoughts and expectations. Ailyn expects to frequently buy the cheese croquettes/balls from the restaurant around the corner – they were her favorite thing on Patmos last time. Sennen expects to eat a lot of tzatziki and gelato. Both kids expect lots of beach time and running around the middle of town – perhaps playing with the other kids. They also expect to be showing Bubbee (my mom) around the island because they'll remember and Bubbee will need to see where everything is. And of course there is great excitement about the Blue Star ferries – which are almost like cruise ships in size and amenities – we even booked a cabin each way.

I expect to buy new furniture, improve the kitchenware and figure out a decor for the house. I also need to secure a property manager to support Airbnb'ing the place when neither I or family and friends are using it.

Beyond that, the summer is a blank slate on an island of white houses and blue, blue seas.

The past year has been so incredibly painful – and while it has also had many good things and joyous moments – it has been the most intense and difficult period of my life. Patmos has always been literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air each of my four sojourns there. Now, it is also a home. 

It all begins June 26th. I'm ready to go home.