February 11, 2020
Last Thursday we were under a tornado watch here in Charlotte. Thankfully one never materialized where I live but there were plenty of downed trees as a result of the strong winds and constant rain. When Sunday brought clear skies and warmer weather, by contrast it was easy to appreciate the beautiful day and feel cheerful.
My good mood was also due to how clearly I can see again. I had the cataract in my right eye removed two weeks ago and the second successful surgery in my left eye the day before the big storm. No more blurred and cloudy vision with halos around lights or seeing double of an object that wasn’t in close proximity. I’ve had poor vision my whole life and have worn glasses since the age of five. In 1999, I had Lasik surgery. That procedure allowed me to go a few years without glasses but eventually I had to start wearing them again. For the past 3 years however, my ability to see has slowly deteriorated and was not being corrected by glasses or contacts. I was not informed as to why this was happening until I decided to change providers and was told by my new optometrist that I cataracts. After the initial shock, I accepted that despite my tender age of 57, surgery to replace my clouded lenses was the only possible solution.
My friend Christy has started dating and she invited me to brunch to meet her new friend. She lives in Fort Mill, which is about a 30 minute drive south on I-77 from my condo. There wasn’t a lot of traffic since it was Sunday and a jet and its stream of water vapor (called a contrail) caught my eye as it moved across the horizon. I noticed two parallel lines of contrails already marking the sky and the jet was about to make an X as it intersected across.
I’ve long sense experienced a big X of jet contrails in the sky as a kiss from the Universe, but I have never seen the jet in action creating it. What delighted me even more is that the jet was writing not just one but two big kisses. I pulled over to snap a shot with my phone because it made me so happy (even with the uncooperative small cloud that would not move). Only later did I notice the sundog rainbow to boot!
Albert Einstein said it well: There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.
NN
