I Have a New Outlook on Life…

Because I Can See Clearly Now

About a year ago I decided I wanted a new comforter for my bed. My old one was showing signs of being…well…old. And I want my bedroom to be cozy and comfortable and charming. So I set out to find a cover I would be absolutely in love with. I knew the first place to look was Rifle Paper Company. I adore everything they make from paper products, to shoes in partnership with Keds (and if you know anything about me, you know I own some of those!), to furniture. The comforter I settled on has a Dahlia pattern (also no surprise, as I recently wrote about conquering my fear of planting a Dahlia garden) with what I thought was a dark cream-colored background. I preferred a bright white background, but I loved the pattern so I pushed the “purchase” button, and soon that comforter was luxuriously lying across my bed. Upon receiving it, I discovered I loved it even more than I imagined I would despite it having (what I thought was) a dark cream background.

My comforter with, surprisingly, a bright white background. A couple of my shoes from Rifle Paper Company/Keds.

But wait. Thinking about that color, let’s stop here and take a few steps back – actually about 30 years’ worth of steps back – to an appointment I had with my eye doctor, when he informed me (to my astounded shock) that cataracts were developing in my eyes. WHAT?? I was barely beginning the middle of my life. I still had kids in school, for heaven’s sake. What was he talking about? Of course, me being me, I challenged him on that. “Let’s look at that again,” I said. “You’re kidding me, right?” But he and I were pretty good friends, with our kids going to school together, so I had to trust and believe him when he told me that he was not kidding and I did indeed have the beginning of cataracts lurking within. But, he said, the good news (!) was that they were very slow-growing and would not come into play for many, many years. Okay…fine. Just… fine.

Fast forward back to now and here I am – me and my cataracts – still together after all these many, many years. I’m just going to say I’m not quite sure how I got here, but nevertheless, here I am. And to my dismay those dang cataracts did manage to sneak up on me and were now literally affecting my point of view. Very gradually… so gradually that I hadn’t really noticed until they had completed their full-on attack, I found I was squinting to read street signs. I stopped driving at night unless I knew exactly where I was going (like to my daughter’s house, where I’m certain my car would drive itself even if I had my eyes closed). Driving on highways or the interstate at night definitely was in the Do-Not-Do Category. While beautiful, all those lights at night had somehow transformed themselves into many different versions of fireworks shows with halos and sparkles bursting from them. And…adding rain into that mix just, well, put more of a damper on the whole thing.

As my optometrist and I continued to “watch” those cataracts, I think the final straw came when I was no longer able to do computer work for very long without everything going hazy and foggy and just plain whacky. Being a writer, they were inhibiting my ability to express myself. And we all know that’s not something I’m fond of. So during my last visit to the eye doctor for my annual check-up, I stated that I was ready to take down those curtains obscuring my view. I was ready to clear things up. It was time to get on with it already.

So appointments were made to get this thing rolling. (It is taking eight appointments in total to get this adventure fully resolved – worth every one!) There was the initial eye appointment where I declared my intention, then one at the eye surgery clinic to go through an abundance of testing and eye dilation to determine the correct course of action. Next were the two separate eye surgeries (amazingly, only 10-minute procedures) – scheduled two weeks apart – to get the old foggy lenses out and the shiny, new, clear ones inserted. After each surgery there were follow-up appointments with my eye doctor to ensure the healing process was going smoothly. And now… on pause… that’s where I find myself today. I am patiently waiting for a couple of weeks to go by so my eyes can settle and we can determine exactly what the new prescription will be for my glasses, giving me a crystal clear view of my world. That appointment will be followed up with yet one more when those newly ordered lenses will have been inserted into my glasses’ frames and are ready to be collected.

I know a lot of people who go through this procedure elect to have their vision corrected with the insertion of the new eye lenses so they no longer need to wear glasses except for reading. But not me. I made sure everyone clearly understood that I still wanted to wear glasses. I love my glasses. I’ve worn them since third grade and, just like my shoes, I consider them an important accessory. And just a little insight here - as one progresses through those calendar pages of life, they become great camouflage! While I don’t have even a fraction as many pairs of glasses as I do shoes (more about those shoes in this story), I want to love every pair and have many choices each day to suit my mood and clothing. I always say, “If you’re gong to wear glasses…wear glasses!”

I currently have three pairs of eyeglasses + a pair of sunglasses. I purchased this gold pair because 1: I love them, and 2: they remind me of my grandma's glasses shown in the last frame.

Now that my eye surgeries have been completed, I wish I could say that I truly do have a new outlook on life. I don’t. But I do have a new, crystal clear outlook on what my eyes see. It’s funny…the first thing I noticed after the surgery dilation calmed down was all the tiny little twigs in the tree branches. Who knew? Before, they were just brown clumps. As I noticed that, I was instantly taken back to when I first got glasses in third grade. On the way home, looking out the car window as my mom drove me home from where we had picked up the glasses, I was struck by how many teeny, tiny little twigs made up the top of a tree branch. I found that incredibly magical. And now I’ve been given the gift of being able to see that miracle again.

One of my friends who recently went through this procedure likened the experience to waking up in the Land of Oz. Yes! Everything is so bright, so clear, and so colorful. I really noticed that effect when I had one eye done and was awaiting surgery on the second. And that’s when I noticed the bright white background on my comforter. Looking at it with the corrected eye, it was so white. Looking at it with the other eye, it was a deep tan. So weird! I do have to say that in-between waiting period definitely made things wonky. It was like wearing only one contact lens. The funniest thing that happened though, was that I did go out driving at night – in the rain – and was confused because things were still blurry with that in-focus eye. (Shhh…. Yes, I did drive one-eyed for a moment just to see what my new vision would be like.) Then I figured it out. I needed new windshield wipers! I had no idea how bad they were before because I just thought I was seeing everything as mush. But then, when I got new wipers, it was astounding. It was like cataract surgery for my car!

The Land of Oz view before and after cataract surgery! (Photos by Matze Weiss on Unsplash

As I sit here now, having been looking at my computer screen for quite some time and still seeing clearly, I am incredibly grateful for the doctors and scientists who have made the gift of clear sight available to so many. It really is life changing and does provide a whole new outlook on what one literally sees in life. It’s so exciting. In fact, I’m so excited that I think I’m going to celebrate by, once my prescription settles, getting myself one more pair of glasses through which I can view this amazing world we live in and frame it in something beautiful.

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I also write the Substack column Grandma’s Recipe Box, a place where we can all share treasured family recipes and the stories behind them. I believe these recipes help make us who we are and bring back memories like nothing else can. I publish my family recipes but also invite readers to join in and share theirs. Who knows? Your recipe gem may become a treasure for another family, or you may find one that becomes your own family heirloom, such as Pat’s (Chocolate) Crazy Cake, these cranberry muffins, or you can join the discussion about who really makes the best potato salad. To join in and submit a recipe, please email me at: ourgrandmasrecipebox@gmail.com

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