I was up with the stars this morning. The skies were cloudless as I stepped out into our driveway to kiss David goodbye. And I peered up, marveling at how bright they were. They were amazingly vivid, especially for the morning. He said it's always like that and is one of the few benefits of leaving for work at 4:30 AM. I said, "Oh," as I continued gazing up at them. As the sound of Suzi (his Suzuki motorcycle) faded away and the glare from his headlight disappeared down the road, my "Oh" turned into an "Ahhhh...." The stars became more vivid on a blanket of dusty blue.
The Lasik surgery, which I had five weeks ago, is opening my eyes (pardon the pun) to entirely new vistas, as well as flora and fauna that I would never have seen from a distance before. I was suddenly seeing millions of stars that I had never seen with my naked eye before this morning. It was truly miraculous. Oh, what I have been missing!
To be treated to such a glorious moment, to feast my eyes upon such a beautiful vision that is suspended just above our heads and to hear the crickets and the nightjars singing, and the soft whir as the wind brushes through the row of pines along our street... I feel blessed to be alive.
I saw the usual big dipper, little dipper, Venus, the north star, Orion's belt. But I also stared in open-eyed awe at dozens of other tiny constellations. My eyes picked out fascinating formations and clusters that I had no name for, but was suddenly starving to know. Then it dawned on me (again, a pun, tee hee) that the night sky would be even more vivid against a black velvet canvas.
When I go out onto our patio this evening and look up, I imagine I will see the cosmos in a whole new light. And I will say, "Thank you."
