Floating Leaf

Now, here's what I had originally planned to post today - before I decided upon the ill-fated shopping trip.:) The next installment of the 30-day meme.



I am going to cheat a bit, because I can't decide on ONE favorite memory. So I'll give you three instead.:)

1) A day trip with my best friend when I was about 18. Now, I should probably explain that said best friend also happened to be my first love; or, to be precise, the first REAL LIFE person I was seriously in love with. Of course, she didn't know that at the time; and, quite possibly, neither did I.:) I just knew that being with her made me deliriously happy, and we didn't see each other very often (it was mostly pen-friendship, with occasional visits) - so this trip we took together to a historic little town in the southeast of Poland was really special. We visited some museums and other tourist attractions, but strangely enough, I don't remember much of that; what I do remember is my friend and how happy and radiant she looked in her brightly colored outfit, huge amber earclips dangling around her face, catching the afternoon sun. She liked wearing vivid colors - which suited her extremely well, since she was (and is) a natural brunette. So I always remember her in color. That day, I think it was blue and green, with maybe a touch of yellow - and those amber clips, which matched her honey-colored eyes. She was light and laughter, and I was in love.

2) My first trip to Greece in 1996. In particular, the moment I walked into the Aegean Sea for the first time. We had only just arrived, I think, and took a break between planned tourist activities to chill at a beach for an hour or so. I remember the breathless wonder of that moment very clearly. I remember thinking to myself, OMG I AM IN GREECE, this is the frigging AEGEAN SEA I am walking into, calm and crystal clear and warm as bathwater, I have never seen sea so clear or sky so blue, not quite THAT shade of blue, and I can't believe this is for real. I sank back into the water, arms out to the sides, and it carried me gently, and I think what was happening in my mind in that instant was a form of worship. There weren't very many moments of such intense happiness in my life. It was entirely pure and perfect, and somehow mystical.

Now, I should probably explain that Greece is a very special place for me. I have always felt a strong attraction to the culture, art, history... pretty much anything connected to the region. When I first heard Greek music as a kid, I went bananas - I laughed and cried and danced around the room, until my parents blinked and scratched their heads.;P I read anything I could find on Greek mythology and devoured tons of Greek-themed historical novels. I stayed up all night every once in a while to record live music from Greek radio stations (you could sometimes catch a few late at night from the south of Poland, where I lived; during the day there was too much interference). Anyway... you get the picture. So, of course, finally GOING there was a big thing.:D As to WHY I feel that way, I don't really know. I suppose it is possible to fall in love with countries, in much the same way as it is possible to fall in love with people. But I've always wondered if reincarnation might be the answer. As in, if I might have been Greek in another lifetime. I was never quite sure if I believed in it - but why else would I have this incredible feeling of BELONGING in a place I'd never been?... I've picked up a random bunch of Greek words and phrases from songs, tourist phrasebooks etc. - and it seems to me that I instinctively know how to pronounce them correctly, even if I don't know what they mean. Sometimes it's quite eerie, this feeling of connection. Anyway... just thought this bit of background info might be relevant.;)

3) The first time I kissed someone I was in love with. Or rather, the first time SHE kissed me.:) Now, I had been in love before, and I had kissed people before, but until then, it had never happened at the same time - if you catch my drift. I just never had the opportunity (as I mostly tended to fall for people who were either unavailable or simply not interested). So it was quite momentous. It happened in my car, btw. About 9 years ago (high time to be kissed by someone you love, you might say; and you'd probably be right, LOL). And, obviously, it didn't lead to any sort of ever-after. But I wasn't expecting that, anyway. I was sort of stunned it even happened at all. In fact, I was stunned for the next few weeks... and then it was over. And it took me a long time to recover. But I have no regrets. I just think I probably wouldn't want to go through something like that again (or shouldn't, if I care about my health). But I now know how it feels to be kissed by someone you are REALLY, powerfully attracted to, in a both romantic AND sexual way - and I could only imagine it before. So it will always be a favorite memory...