God-Shot at the Wawa

 

 You never know who you'll run into at the local Wawa. I had just finished my walk in the park and needed to get change for the laundromat, the next stop on my to-do list. So I headed to the one stop convenience store to get coffee and change, but first decided to use the restroom since there isn't one where I do laundry.
      To my surprise, a friend who I don't see very often was in the ladies room and having a bit of a stressful day. She told me what had her upset, we chatted a while and hugged. We talked about the coincidence of running into each other when she needed someone to talk to. I told her there have been synchronicities occurring over the weekend starting with a conversation my son on Saturday,  a speaker at church on Sunday , a medium I met with later that day and interacting with some birds on my walk this morning. She went on her way in hopefully a better frame of mind.
     Another woman who had left the restroom and came back in while we were still talking apologized for me having to witness her brushing her teeth.  I didn't think anything of it and said I hoped my friend and I didn't disturb her. She said it was good to hear how we just happened to be there at the same time and she thought I was a good woman to spend time chatting in the restroom. All I could say is God works in mysterious ways and she agreed. I got the feeling her being present was helpful to her also.
     My plan for today was to spend alone time before my other cataract surgery tomorrow. I really had no intention of writing today. Focusing on reading and writing has been tiring at times over the last two weeks, something I expect will change once the other eye is done.
      The coincidences over the weekend and this morning all had to do with changes and connections  and expansion. So the message was for me as well as my friend and the stranger. I might sometimes need time alone to collect my thoughts or connect with Nature or my Higher Power but we're all in this together.  There is a plan at work and it's not mine,
   

THE JOY OF SEEING - Part 2

 

 A couple months ago I posted that it was time to schedule an evaluation for cataract surgery. I saw the surgeon shortly after that  and this past week I had the left eye done- cataract extraction and lens implant. It was amazing - when the surgery was over and the doctor removed the drape from my face, I was able to see his face clearly, which I hadn't been able to do when he walked into the OR. Then they wheeled me out to the post-op area and I was able to read the white board on the wall from about 6 feet away. Before this I might have been able to see that there was a white rectangle hanging there and maybe I could have seen blotches of color that was the writing, but to actually read something more than a foot away without glasses, without squinting was so fantastic I couldn't stop grinning. Truth be told, the sedation they gave me might have helped my mood, but I have worn glasses since third grade and that's been a lot of years.

     I went home and was pleased to discover what friends had told me- The light was so much brighter, I saw white walls that I thought were tan, and yes even that I had wrinkles I didn't see before.
     I  rested that night  and had a follow up appointment with my original eye doctor the next morning. My vision was a little blurry, but I attributed it to the fact that if I wore my glasses I could only see clearly out of my right eye and if I took them off, I could see clearly on the left. When Dr. John checked my vision in the left eye, I was a little disappointed to hear it was only 20/40 but he said that might improve with time. Then he examined my eye and told me there was an abrasion on the outer layer of the eye, kind of like a blister - it was like looking through a bubble!  He called the surgeon and they agreed to place a lens patch over it to help it flatten out and hopefully reattach over the next couple of days.

     They removed the lens from my glasses over the left eye and I was again surprised- I thought that since I had a lens implanted on that side, I would be able to see equally well with both eyes. No, but no. Well, yes I might have equal vision in both eyes, just not at the same time.  Even without the abrasion, apparently the placement of an external lens on one side and an internal lens on the other can cause distortion, Nobody forewarned me of this, but hopefully after next week when the right eye is done, that should balance out.
 
          I had to go back to the eye center three days after the surgery and they brushed the edges of the abrasion to help it heal and placed another patch lens to protect the eye. The next three days the clarity waxed and waned, sometimes clear, sometimes blurry, sometimes seeing double. This all made my eyes tired and made me annoyed.

     When I woke up this morning I was thinking that continuing to be positive in the face of setbacks was getting kind of old and was I feeling pretty irritable on the drive to the doctor's office. I was reminded of a character in Voltaire's Candide- Professor Pangloss who in the face of misfortune, torture and disease claimed that "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds". I started to think maybe I wasn't going to be seeing as well as I had hoped and I might as well stop looking for the silver lining.

     This morning, another three days later, it's 95% healed. so I got another patch and I go back tomorrow to have that removed. Oh, and today the vision in that eye is 20/25!  I went out for my walk in the park after my appointment and could truly enjoy the view. At a distance I could see equally clearly with either eye, and if I didn't turn my head to the side too much I could use both eyes together. What a difference in the light with my left eye - the river was clearer, the sunlight reflected on the leaves was brighter. OK, the birdsong and the squirrels chittering sounding sweeter had nothing to do with my eyesight, except that seeing clearly put me in a good mood. .

     Later when I got home from my walk the vision started to blur again, so I took  nap and when I woke it was clearer. I'm typing my story with one eye closed, but it's okay. Next week I'll have the other eye corrected and things will work out as they are supposed to. Maybe not all for the best in the best of all possible worlds, but I trust that I will see well and I will write and walk in the park and live my life  well a day at a time. I'm still looking forward to see what's next. Tune in next time for the Joy of Seeing - Part 3.

And Just Like That, It's Autumn

   There was a definite change in the weather this weekend. I've been feeling myself wanting to crawl into the cave since it's been getting darker earlier and staying dark later in the morning. Summer is time for outside social activity and while I will continue with my walks all winter long, the concerts, festivals and bike races are done. It's time to go indoors.

     

     It's nothing new for me to withdraw in the wintertime and come back in the Spring  Maybe this will motivate me to write more with fewer activities to distract me. I took a drive this afternoon about an hour out to the country to the Fall Craft Fair at  Leesport Farmer's Market. I've been out there a few times in the Summer for the Native American Pow Wow that is held there and enjoy the ride. I was thinking on the way back that I just enjoy the road passing under my wheels even with no particular destination. 

     Anyway, it's been a good Summer, and tomorrow I'll be sitting down with a few family members to recall Sunday afternoons in days past when it was all about the family getting together for dinner. Some homes may start out a Sunday morning with the smell of bacon frying on the stove, but growing up with my Italian Grandmom meant the aroma of meatballs in the skillet and gravy in the pot. If you got there early enough, you might get to grab a meatball before it went into the gravy. 

     I'm looking forward to hearing what my cousins recall from those days, and to putting our story into words. I'm sure I won't be able to remember everything that happened when I was  growing up on Sandy Street but I want to give it a try. I have enjoyed writing this blog so far and the idea of  a book is still waiting to be carried out. I have no idea how long this might take, but I'll just keep at it one word, or idea or chapter at a time. 

     A few months ago I started attending a writers group - Writers Assemble - at a local library. Some  of the members have been writing for years, some are published, some attempting to be published, some doing it just for the pleasure of telling a story. I'm glad to have their support on a monthly basis  in this adventure. as well as those who have been there for me from the beginning.

     So as the weather turns cooler and the days shorter, here's hoping the story of Gravy Every Sunday finds it's way into words.

Storytellers and the Book Fair

     When I saw the event post from Marie Gilbert for the Collingswood Book Festival this past Saturday I decided to go check it out. Marie is a multi-talented person - Writer, Blogger, South Jersey Psychic, and Professional Ghost investigator. She is also the person who first suggested I start writing a blog when I met her at a Psychic and Healing Expo back in March. She was one of many readers there but I was drawn to her and am so glad I sat down with her and took her advice to start writing.

     The Book Festival was incredible! It must have been half a mile or more of Haddon Avenue closed to traffic. There were hundreds of authors and their books of a variety of genres, and booth after booth of book related merchandise, music, poetry readings, and new and used book sales. I stopped to talk with Marie of course and got a copy of her book "Life With Fred and Lucy". I also got to chat with a number of the authors, and even purchased a book ("Apart") from a new author - J. Lauryl Jennings who told me of her adventures in following her dream to write and encouraged me to do the same.

     That was the message I heard time and time again from many of the writers I met yesterday and have met over the past months since I started writing, including Marie, my friend Michael, and the members of my writers group -the Writers Assemble.  If you are called to write or tell a story, just do it!  The one thing I've heard time and again and I know as truth is to Enjoy the Writing!
       

     I have been having a hard time starting to write again after the last piece I posted, because I think I'm supposed to write my book and I get overwhelmed at the enormity of it. When I saw all the authors lining the street with their written creations I was feeling inadequate - how could I ever compete in the world of getting published and circulated. But as I walked around and talked with fellow writers about the love of writing and the joy of sharing their stories, I was reminded that I only have to do today, what I can do today. When I actually put my story into words, the path will become clear as it has been doing all along if I just trust that I have been given the call to write and the support I've needed to get this far. I am grateful to those of you who read my posts and leave comments.

     If there is something you've been dreaming of doing, if you feel called to move forward, trust that if it is meant to be, it will happen.