The Joy of Seeing

Well, the time has come to have a consult for cataract surgery. I'm scheduled to see the surgeon next week to explore options and decide if I'm ready, but my regular eye doctor told me last month that there isn't much more that new eyeglasses will do and if I have the surgery I might not need glasses at all. That sounds pretty exciting since I've been wearing glasses since third grade!
     I was talking with a friend last week about when I first realized I couldn't see well. The teacher was giving a quiz and instead of just leaving blank spaces for us to fill in, she randomly wrote the answers on the blackboard. I knew the answers to the test, but when I looked up,at the board, I couldn't see George Washington because it was on the far side of the room. Being me, I couldn't just raise my hand and tell her, but instead started crying because I couldn't see. She notified my Mom and I was later taken to the eye doctor for the first time. It was great to be able to see clearly.

    Over the years, I've had numerous changes to my prescription as my sight has grown weaker. Of course, for vanity's sake I gave contact lenses a try, but couldn't tolerate them because of dry eyes. I remember the shock about fifteen or more years ago when a student doctor was doing my initial eye exam and exclaimed "A cataract!"- I guess it was the first time she had actually seen one outside the classroom.  Dr John came in and told me it was in the early stages and not a concern, and I have been doing fine until recently.
     I have noticed I'm not as comfortable driving at night on unfamiliar roads. I have not seen people or animals along the side of the road until I was close to them which kind of scared me. Also when driving on major highways I sometimes don't see signs for my turnoff until I'm almost on top of them.   So when the doctor said it's time for surgery I was a bit relieved. Just last week, realizing I would be out of town late at night I reserved a hotel room rather that try to drive home. I'm glad it was only a mile away from the event I was attending, because I had difficulty locating the driveway. I don't think I would have made it back home at night.
  I am grateful for the ability to see, to drive, to be independent and want to continue to be all that for as long as I can.Yeah, I know there's always a risk with any surgery and maybe I'll still need glasses for some things. but the idea of being able to travel more comfortably is a big motivation to get it done. Wish me well.
   

   

Life Goes On and On and On

   

This will be my third attempt this week to write. It seems like after the last post when I bravely spoke about getting ready to start writing a book, I have not come up with anything outside of my daily Morning Pages / journaling that I started back doing at the beginning of the year.
     Last weekend started out on Saturday by following a friend to drop her car off for repairs at the unreal hour of 7 AM. I mean I'm retired and that is no longer part of my routine, right? Anyway after stopping for breakfast before I'm normally awake. I was able to drop her off to retrieve her car. Then a group of us had gotten together at 10 AM as we usually do and one of our ladies was overcome by the heat and another friend and I spent a few hours with her at the local ER. Fortunately she was able to be released after being hydrated and cooled off. By this time it was too hot for me to get my usual walk in so I headed to the laundromat instead and got that chore done. I finished up Saturday watching American Flat Track racing on FansChoice, a new interest for me, thanks to the excellent writing of a  professional journalist and fellow blogger. (see ehorseman.blogspot.com )
     Sunday started out quietly with a visit to my local church followed by a walk on the Schuylkill River Trail. In the afternoon I met a friend at a local book store- yes there are still local book stores- for a book signing by an author I've been reading for a couple of decades. She and her daughter have just released a new book and her daughter has a novel coming out that she has been working on for years. She has a deal, the book is in re-write and should be out next year. She encouraged newbie writers (like me) to keep at it and not lose hope. I needed to hear that. It would have been great to have an actual seat, but thanks to my New Yorker buddy the seats on the tile floor were more comfortable than standing for an hour!  A local band was performing at the hometown park that evening so I headed over there for a while to sit back and soak up some music and chill. I was there all of about ten minutes and ran into two former classmates from high school and a neighbor and her mom from my childhood street.
      My mind was a bit crazy, so I left early to go hang with some friends where I could just sit and listen. On the way out of the park I stepped on what looked like a damp patch of grass, but was instead a foul-smelling mire of mud that sucked my shoes off! I managed to rinse off as much as I could with my water bottle and went home to shower and change. I was able to make it in time and heard what I need to hear to get back to a calmer place. As I was getting ready to leave, a friend asked if I would like to attend Cirque Du Soliel on Thursday! She had gotten tickets from her job and was thinking of asking me to go and I showed up - just like I was meant to be there after all the  running around I'd been doing. Perfect ending to a long weekend.
     Monday was a quieter day- a nice long walk at my favorite park where I could see the tents that had been erected for Cirque Du Soliel.  Later that evening I got to catch up with the aforementioned blogger to talk about the weekend's races. I always enjoy our talks. Tuesday I took Mom to her eye doctor appointment and she was told to come back to see the glaucoma specialists ASAP because her pressures were up. That night I got to see Casablanca on the big screen for the first time, though I've watched it lots of times at home- a quiet fun night.
   Wednesday I was about to take a long ride when my sister called to say Mom had fallen and they were going to Patient First for stitches. Mom is ninety-four and has had a couple falls before, so she wasn't going to bother getting checked except she couldn't stop bleeding. After closing the wound over her eye, the doctor told her she had to go to the ER for a CT scan of her head to make sure she wasn't bleeding. She was not a happy camper, but fortunately everything looked good and she got to go home.  On Thursday, the glaucoma doc told her her pressures were down again, but suggested a laser procedure to stabilize things, She's had it done before, so that's in the works for next month.
     Finally Thursday night, my big night at the circus aka Cirque! We arrived half an hour early and maybe because it was opening night  they were passing out free popcorn, sandwich sliders, cookies, donuts and wine (we had to pay for our water!) . Had I known I would have skipped dinner, Anyway, The show started and was pretty amazing. I have never seen Cirque Du Soliel before except for excerpts on TV. Action, acrobatics, fluid movement, music, breath-taking moments, enough hints for everyone to make up their own story. Per the website, VOLTA focuses on a guy who as a child felt different and in the end finds that it's about being true to himself, about finding our own identity and power. The street bike acrobatic choreography at the finale was amazing!
     So, not every week is like this one has been and looks to continue to be, but people ask what I do in retirement. My initial response was whatever I feel like. It seems like since I started writing, new things are occurring all the time. I can't wait to see what happens next!

I Think We're Going To Need A Bigger Book

Hi All.
This morning I posted a message to a few relatives:

Hey Family, I'm getting ready to start working on a book and wanted to let you all know. If you have any stories or suggestions I'd love to hear from you. Also, would you let the rest of the family know, Thanks so much.

tIntro to "Gravy Every Sunday" Back when I was growing up on Sandy Street, we lived with my Grandmom, Carmella. We moved in with her before I can remember. There was Grandmom, my Mom Mary, sister also named Mary, brother Bob and me. Over the years aunts, uncles and cousins moved in and out as well. I believe at one time that four bedroom house was home to ten of us as well as whichever Army buddy Uncle Joey brought home from Fort Dix for the weekend. There was always room for one more at the table. The best part of the week was Sunday morning when I would wake up to the aroma of meatballs frying in the skillet and homemade gravy cooking on the stove.Every Sunday all the family that lived in town would sit down together. If anyone was not there when Grandmom put the spaghetti dinner on the table, they got a phone call letting them know they needed to get there now!

The responses came quick and numerous as well as suggestions for who else to include and where and when we could all get together to talk it over. I'm starting to think that the writing the memories and the actual sitting down together are all connected to the "gravy". I have seen psychic mediums over the years because of a desire to connect with  husbands and other family members who have passed. Both my Grandmother a while back, and an uncle this year have said they miss the gravy.
As I was out walking this morning it occurred to me that the connection is the coming together as "family" as much as the food itself and  it's preparation.

The book will be written, I have no doubt, and I know I will enjoy the memory of us all getting together again and reflecting on what we have shared in the past. But the gravy in my story can also be the pot-luck picnics shared with friends, coffee and home-made desserts at a meeting or at a friends home, bringing a home-town sandwich or chocolate to a friend up the road  or even Gatorade shared with a member of a different kind of family having a bad day.

So as I start out on this adventure in writing, I have no clear idea where I'm going , but I do have an idea  that it's about taking time on a regular basis to be present to those we care about and maybe establishing pleasant rituals that we can carry with us when they are no longer around. And if we can add a smile and some good food it's all good.