This Smiley is the air intake maniflold on one of the trains where I work.

Saw this when feeding the cat….

I’m thinking the owner of the red car was probably not smiling.

I am in a state of almost constant giddiness about how great, great, great is the outcome of my eye surgery. The eye that was funky and going downhill fast, now has perfect 20/20 vision but only for things which are far away. The other eye is still nearsighted so only able to see things which are close up. The freaky thing is that my brain is using one eye or the other depending on the task and is able to switch so rapidly that I am not aware. This leaves me in awe about how cool is the brain. And best of all, NO MORE glasses and I’ve worn glasses since first grade!

Cruising around Point Reyes yesterday I could not stop telling everyone (I mean everyone: strangers on the street, the guy at the 7/11, the woman at the museum all heard, “I can read that sign!” and “Check out those pine needles.”). Really, really like about a hundred times or more I just had to shout out about what I was seeing.

The coolest thing of all? I reached up to scratch my forehead above my distance eye. The distance eye was momentarily blocked so the other eye took over. But the other eye is the one that can’t see distance so everything instantly went to blurry. Whoa! Put down my hand and everything was clear again. Hand up, blurry. Hand down, clear. Tried that about 20 or 30 times. Fun! Fun! Fun!

This phenomenon will be my ongoing reminder to be thankful for my restored sight. I simply adore that there is this lovely built-in way to keep the feelings of wonder, joy and gratitude always with me. It made me think, life often gives us a way to remember to feel the joy. Sadly sometimes we forget to notice. Long ago I decided to notice and with that decision came a life with so many layers of richness. Decide to notice.

Smile. Be Happy.
Ruth

P.S.: Almost forgot to share this little bit of info, my surgeon wore pearls in the operating room. How Donna Reed of her! Loved that!

P.S.: I can’t stop singing this lyric from Peter Pan, which I have altered just a itty, bitty bit:

When there’s a smile in your heart
There’s no better time to start
It’s a very simple plan
You can do what the birdies can
At least it’s worth a try
You can fly! You can fly! 
You can fly! You can fly!
I can see! I can see! I can see!

P.S.S.: Don’t get the Donna Reed reference…you know I’m going to say it: ask an old person, they’re very handy to have around.

P.S.S.S.: * The title refers to a song by another Donna, Donna Fargo. Don’t get the reference, see P.S.S..

I work on trains in Camden, NJ.  So wearing the day-glo yellow with the reflective tape is a safety requirement.  This was the first time that I was able to see the smiley so I had to take the photo with my cellphone.

Went for a walk today in a park that’s 5 minutes from my home, but I’ve never been to before!  What a treat…