Where The Grass Is As High As An Elephant’s Eye

"So you will work for me in the mornings and I will pay you for your help…." Eirini said.

"Ok, when is my shift?" Sennen asked

Sennen received his first serious job offer at just before midnight – about an hour and a half after arriving on Patmos. Sennen left the conversation ready to go to work this morning, but I said that I wasn't sure Eirini really meant it. But when we saw her his morning, she assured him she did and he plans to show up tomorrow morning to help her put stamps on new inventory!

Eirini and her Cuban husband Alessandro own Nektar, a shop in the middle of town – and two doors down from us – that sells natural products and gifts from Greece. Think Spartan honey in pretty containers and olive wood serving platters. They remember Sennen and Ailyn at ages six and four and were amazed at them now. Eirini said, "I can see this boy is special…" And the offer came within minutes. Sennen is thrilled about his "first summer job" and now Ailyn wants one too.

This is just one of the many wonders of the past 18 hours. After all, arriving on Patmos is always an event filled with wonder and excitement. But showing up to your new house too – well, there's a lot to that.

Manos, the attorney who facilitated the purchase of the house kindly met us at the ferry dock and helped us to the house. He mentioned I should talk to the people who own the cafe in front of the house as they have someone who will cut the grass.  It made sense when we walked into the yard and the grass is literally as high as an elephant's eye. The entire yard is overgrown beyond belief and the yard trimmer in question has a scythe. When I told Dimitris who rents me cars about this, he told me that it's probably a deal where someone who raises goats will come scythe the grassfire free to feed it to his animals. I didn't know such deals were there to be had – but I welcome the local arrangement.

Manos also advised that the cleaning ladies he hired spent three days in and out of the house in order to air it out and get rid of the mildew in some of the closets and drawers. They advised to get rid of all of the linens and pillows remaining in the house. Luckily, I didn't expect there to be any and brought sheets and towels. We plan to buy new pillows and some light blankets tonight.

In reality, the house is in great shape. The things that need doing are fairly typical, addressable things for a new house. The old furniture the sellers were kind enough to leave behind will need to go. The beds are not comfortable. And it's generally cheap furniture that suited their vacation needs with three growing boys. I'd like something nicer. But that was expected. The door handle pulls right out of the bathroom door. I saw a carpenter about it today (yes, that's who has to fix these things in Patmos and we'll skip how I learned this or how one finds a/the carpenter in Patmos). The rust and calcium deposits in the dishwasher need treatment. I can't open one of the metal shutters. One dresser is missing a piece of wood on top. The shower has long-term stains. We have yet to test the washer and dryer. We need more cookware. Again, all of these things will be solved – they'll just take some work and patience. 

On the positive side, the air conditioners all work well and despite the house being small, it feel spacious. 

I also take some joy in the idea that the kids showed up with me on day zero. The evolution of this house – hopefully a second home to them – is something they'll be part of and remember. There's an opportunity for the house to become part of their story and in turn, a story they pass along. 

So what does one do the first morning waking up in their new Patmos home? Lazily get out of bed. Walk to a bakery to have cheese or cream pie for breakfast. Go grocery shopping and have the groceries delivered. Walk around town. Chat with people you recognize. Pick up your rental car. Press your rental car friends for recommendations on how to fix your broken bathroom door. Visit a carpenter hidden behind a florist. Buy a soccer ball. Check out a renovated playground. Eat gyros. Air condition yourself. Notice the view of the monastery from your front door. Putter around the house. Unpack. Shower. Figure out how to use the shower and water heater. Open the retractable awning over the front patio. Fret about light bulbs that are too cold and blue and attempt to find warmer ones of the right size. Do art projects. Nap. Walk around town showing your grandmother how Patmos works. Find the linens shop. Work at a cafe. Ok, not just any cafe – work at Stelios' where you've worked for years. Note – this is a composite of all of us.

One thing that didn't happen: Leaving Skala. We stayed in town all day. Now that we have the car, beaches are an option and I expect the Patmos adventure to continue tomorrow with at least a ride around the island if not time at the beach. There's so much ahead.

At the same time, there can't be too much of a good thing at least for Sennen.

"Three weeks on Patmos isn't enough. I love to be here. I always want to be here!" he said last night after an hour on the island. Once we were in the house, the kids were dying to show my mom around so we went for gelato at Stelios' and a late night walk around town. We didn't go that far or spend too long. But like Celine Dion, Sennen found it all coming back to him. Watching his face was like watching lights turn on – details pouring in and things that had become hazy regained their clarity. Four years is a long time for a ten-year-old. Nonetheless, time dissolved and he became like Kundun recognizing his false teeth from his last life. "This is where Mommy and Matheus ate octopus! This is the playground that was old and I didn't like it then. Oh, this shop has the best linen shirts. I want one! The gyro restaurant! Pantellis – we came here with Matheus on our last night on Patmos!"

"I want to come back every year! Can we do that?"

"Uh, yeah – we can. That's why I got the house…."

"That's great, Daddy. Nice job!"

I felt good about that.

While Sennen reveled, Ailyn's battery was draining quickly and we had to wrap up our walk to get her showered and to bed. My mom probably needed sleep the most having reported not sleeping at all on the flights or the ferry. Not only was she fatigued but embarrassed and literally bruised from a stumble getting off Blue Star Patmos. Apparently her suitcase got caught on a ridge coming out of the floor of the gang plank (a real danger everyone struggles with) and fell. Sadly, in all the noise and chaos of the ferry disembarkation, I didn't see it. Suddenly, two ferry attendants appeared near the kids and me – one carrying my mom's bags and the other escorting my mom. At first, her pride was more wounded than anything else – until later when she discovered more bruises that she expected. Luckily, I had arnica cream handy and she seems to be doing well despite it. 

So while the first evening went out with a bit of a whimper (at least for everyone but Sennen), today was a positive glide forward. The air, sun, perfect temperatures (high of 80, low of 73) and that Patmos vibe conspired to make it an easy entry.

Tonight I'll be back to work as usual with calls, emails, etc. Only I'll be working from home – in Patmos. Not a bad deal. I might also try replacing a few of those wretched daylight bulbs with soft whites between calls….