12 Time Zones to True Love

by Anna Elena Berlin (497 words)

 

       The clothes I packed in my Hawaiian rental were damp from torrential rain. But, I was determined to fly to Greece that day and heal my heart, shattered by betrayal.

 

       I’d flown to Hawaii from Mexico seeking comforting relief from my daughter and her fiance. They did help me feel better. As did several weeks of mind and body therapies, and a month in a rainforest cottage. However, as a Certified Life Coach I knew I had to be more proactive to completely heal, because older women do die of Broken Heart Syndrome. So I kept asking myself, “What do you really need?”

 

       I remembered Greece always made me feel good. I knew that I would have my fill of traditional vegetable dishes, sunshine, turquoise seas, and hopefully—a reinvigorated life. All of this and more were only 12 time zones away... and 30 hours of travel time.

 

       I decided to give this trip a worthy mission to add purpose and meaning beyond just trying to pull myself together. I’d go to Kalamata to find the best organic olive oil, a brain super-food, for my chef daughter to use in her future food business, and for our family’s personal health.

 

       First stop was Agia Effimia, on the gorgeous Ionian island of Kefalonia, for a week of seaside introspection to calm my frayed nerves. Then, I felt ready to meet the olive farmer in Kalamata who had arranged for me to rent his sister’s AirBnB for a month. 

 

       It was perfectly situated in historic old town, and only a block away was a gym to regain my strength. One rainy morning the tables were all taken inside the coffee shop I frequented before working out. Seeing my need, the man that usually sat at the table next to mine asked if I would like to sit with him and away from smokers. After ten mornings of tri-lingual conversation over espresso, we started dating. 

 

       It had only been four months since my emotional trauma and I kept telling myself, “You aren’t ready for love yet.” 

 

       I tried repeatedly to talk myself out of falling for this handsome Greek man, fifteen years younger than me. But that judgment flew out the window when one evening he asked me, “Anna what are we doing here?” I replied, “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I think I’m falling in love.” He asked, “Do you believe in true love?” To which I replied, “Yes, I do.” Then he asked, “What do you think it is?” It took me a year to fully answer him. By then true love had healed me completely.

 

       Fast forward two years; did it work out? Yes, it did! Did we get married? Yes, we did! And, then COVID-19 distress caused us to get unmarried. Did that keep us from loving each other? No, it didn’t... we’re getting married again! Life is so interesting.

 

       I honestly felt I was being led—God has a way better imagination than I do.