Life in Optometry

I've always believed that since change is inevitable in life, you should just roll with the punches. Man up and face it, adapt to it and move on. But when you lose a family member, no matter what kind of relationship you have with them, it no longer becomes a matter of adapting...it is more like swapping a lens for a clearer one, a harsher one.
My grandmother recently passed away. We knew it was coming, she had been diagnosed with cancer years ago. But it still shook me. I did not have a very close relationship with my grandparents. My father was in the military and we were overseas for 90% of my adolescent years. So I never really got to know them well. I "officially" met them when we moved to Florida during my senior year of high school. After that, we saw them during holidays and birthdays. When I graduated, I was so eager to experience life, taste the freedom of not having parental units around, that I flew to Hawaii for the summer to visit my older sister, Madalene. When it was time to go home, I chose to stay.
I eventually ended up in California. My grandfather passed away a few years ago, complications from a stroke. Lens swap. My grandma was the last living grandparent we had. I remember one year, I sent her a special journal which asked specific questions about her life. It was a way for her to chronicle her life so that I could know a little bit more about her. She wasn't too keen on the idea, so it was never used. In retrospect, maybe she didn't want that reminder that her time was short. I should have asked her how she felt about it, but it never occurred to me.
Now that she is gone, I find myself wanting my family around. My dad is in Florida, he stayed behind when my mom moved here a year ago, to take care of my grandma. He remains there to take care of her affairs. I haven't seen my dad in years...I miss him. Everyone misses him. We are all in California now, waiting for him.
So now that my lens' have been swapped I see much more clearly. I feel the need to rid myself of all the negatives in my life, start fresh. I've been living everyday, adapting to changes around me, but not making any changes of my own. I've lived in an opaque bubble, not looking too far ahead, just rolling with the punches.
I'd like to end this post with a quote that I find very profound. RIP grandma, you are loved.







Irene Leona Styffe





*Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.
Bruce Barton