short stories and memories


October 18th 2016 


My dear readers


Over the years I've taken random notes and observations and turned them into small poems. Some things are about nothing significant but have piled up in my drawer of writing samples. Recently I've been mulling around with the idea of writing a series of short stories based on my family. Names will be changed of course but the characters will be very true to the real people I'm drawing my inspiration from. Having taken a pile of family pictures from my home in Athens this past September, I've been quite inspired to tell a story of the women in my family. 

Often overlooked, many were silent sufferers if you will, others very strong and unapologetic about being ahead of their time, others setting aside grand careers and their dreams to be good wives, good mothers, pleasing housewives but never selfishly looking to further their dreams, that were forever locked away in a drawer never to be seen again.  
I recall stories being told over the years by my grandmother and her sister. They were like movie scripts waiting to be written. I'm not a very skilled writer but I will try best to convey these stories to you with the tools that I possess. I've always wanted to write something interesting and funny about my family and the characters that I grew up with.

 These women are in every family, they are our mothers, aunts, grandmothers, sisters. They speak to me in ways that the men never could. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of the men in my family as well, but like tradition has it, they were very distant and somewhat removed in their stories. Hard working, pillars of the community and their families, but never very affectionate. As much as I tried to get close to them, as a young girl, I had far less contact with the men. The women in my Greek family had the passion, the fire, the glue that held the family together, even through the darkest of times. The past is clashing with the present. Voices and faces thought long gone, are back reminding me of what's real and what's not. I hope you enjoy this journey with me. 


Here’s a little sample of things to come…


"Pavlina"


She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Gazed dutifully at her husband Lefteris who was preparing for yet another mission with the Navy. She had placed her pearls just so, put on her bright red lipstick and wondered if he noticed her at all any more. She pressed on her lips opened her little golden pill box, and stared for what seemed like an eternity at those little white pills.

Never mind she thought he will notice my beautiful new dress when he gets back. Her son was now almost two years old and very attached to his mother. His father was away so often he sometimes didn't recognize him. She scolded him as he pulled at her dress, calling mama mama, insisting that she pay attention to his new toy, brought back from England by his father. Toys, gifts, expensive dresses, he made up for his absence with things, but never an embrace a kiss a hug, that was frivolous to him. He was a hard man to understand and an even harder one to please.

She often tried to get closer to him, but he didn't want an overly expressive wife to embarrass him in public. "Stop kissing me Pavlina, you are looking ridiculous!" He would say and push her away from his embrace as he walked ahead to greet his brother in law. She tried so hard to be liked. She made every effort to be proper, but it didn't make a difference. Her mother in law a strong and protective woman, didn't think she was good enough for her first born. 

At public functions and dinners held at the family home, Pavlina would often sit alone in the kitchen gazing at the tall eucalyptus tree in the front yard listening to the leaves swishing and swaying in the wind. She felt like that tree spoke to her, she would move to its rhythm. Her sister in law Penelope, and the rest of the family didn't pay much attention to her. Called her crazy behind her back, made jokes about her, scoffed at her dresses and over the top hairdos, but she didn't care. She closed her eyes, drank her sherry from a little green glass, took a deep breath and smiled. 

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