From the time I decided to join D. in Scotland to the time I actually arrived, there were a lot of ups and downs. The immigration process is fairly complicated on its own, but throwing in the pandemic and Brexit certainly made it not for the faint of heart. D. and I wound up being apart for eleven months. Whenever I would get a bit impatient, which was often, he would remind me to be patient. Yes, that was absolutely as annoying as it sounds, though he was right. After I gave him the if-my-eyes-were-laser-beams look a number of times in response, he changed his wording to say “you have to be P.”, as if not saying the whole word patience made it softer. I still gave him the death-stare, but it also made us laugh.
I haven’t written about our housing search for a while. I’ve been a bit superstitious about writing with news until I was sure that it would come true. We made an offer on an apartment/flat at the end of March, which was accepted, and we requested/hoped to be settled by the end of May. Alas, the system here is very different and we’re still quite unsure when the closing will take place. So, that’s where a lot more p. comes in. Definitely not my strong point. I’ll write more about the move when there are any developments.
We’re also needing to have a little p. here in Glasgow as just about all of the rest of the country went from level 3 to level 2 today, but due to rising COVID cases here, we’re going to be hanging at level 3 for a wee bit longer. The variant from India is causing some spike in cases in scattered places in the UK at present.
So, what to do when I’m trying to cultivate p.? Besides some very boring and tedious things I’ve had on my plate the last couple of weeks which I’ll spare you further detail – such as navigating and paying my UK taxes and documenting that my contribution for the flat was not coming from laundered money – I’ve continued to look for wonder in the everyday. In addition to my snail friend above, here are some things spotted in my very urban environment that brought me some joy.
Being p. is not terribly fun, so here is a beautiful Greek song from the late 1940’s that I hope will keep you sweet company for whatever area in your life needs some p.
Have a Little Patience/Κάνε λιγάκι υπομονή
Do not despair and it will not be long
Μην απελπίζεσαι και δε θ’ αργήσει
one dawn he will come to you
κοντά σου θα ‘ρθει μια χαραυγή
to ask you for your love again
καινούργια αγάπη να σου ζητήσει
have a little patience
κάνε λιγάκι υπομονή
Drive the clouds out of your heart
Διώξε τα σύννεφα απ’ την καρδιά σου
and don’t stay up crying
και μες στο κλάμα μην ξαγρυπνάς
even if he is not in your arms
τι κι αν δε βρίσκεται στην αγκαλιά σου
he will come one day, do not forget it
θα ‘ρθει μια μέρα μην το ξεχνάς
One sweet dawn he will wake you up
Γλυκοχαράματα θα σε ξυπνήσει
and your love will be resurrected
και ο έρωτας σας θ’ αναστηθεί
a new love will begin again
καινούργια αγάπη θα ξαν’ αρχίσει
have a little patience
κάνε λιγάκι υπομονή
Songwriters: Vasilis Tsitsanis