Sometimes You Gotta Laugh

Life with myopic macular degeneration

Life lessons gleaned from living with this diagnosis of myopic macular degeneration are many. From the early days of diagnosis, accessing the damage done from the onset of the bleeds and pursuing a course to slow down or even stop this event from continuing onward.

It is by being aware of new limitations, be it no longer driving at night or installing brighter LED lights to illuminate the new darkness. This process is a constant journey to try to stay one step ahead of the path of this degeneration.

Welcoming the humor

In this journey, humor is very important, otherwise, you can lose yourself in a bit of a pity party. I have found as I have gotten a bit older, that laughter really helps, even when it's me that the laughter stems from.

Dau Voire, a social media influencer once said: Laughing is, and will always be, the best form of therapy. With this in mind, let me share with you a recent laughing moment that I experienced.

That one day

It was a recent Sunday evening and I was getting prepared to settle into my “studio”, actually our house office but I have grand aspirations of having an art studio. Today’s anticipated project revolved around a small wooden canvas and a night sky painting, with colors I could not wait to work with.

A shadowy figure

As I headed down the hall to said destination I noticed an odd blob on the neighboring front door, just alongside the office/studio. As the sun had set, there was an overwhelming shadowing effect on this door, obscuring a clear view. With these eyes of mine unable to distinguish just what the heck I was seeing I made a quick swipe at this object.

It moved! Approximately the size of a silver dollar and It made a defensive leap away from me. Heart quickly pounding, I concluded this was not a random fly away leaf but was in fact a live and viable FROG and it was moving in my house.

The plan

Emptying my hands quickly, I scampered back to the kitchen for a large container with the plan to cover and scoop this predator and toss him out the door. “Kermit” had other plans. My first attempt sent him leaping across the entryway, scurrying behind the plant stand, clearly not ready for this rescue of mine.

After several attempts of “cupping” him failed I was starting to get frantic. All I could think of is if the dog finds this tasty treat we are in big trouble. Taking a minute to think, I realized an easy solution was at hand: Open the front door and then gently swish this amphibian out the door and back to his own kingdom, OUTSIDE.

The plan was a success and Kermit was on his way home.

Laughing at myself

After taking a moment to settle my racing heart down I seriously had to laugh. Noting that if my vision was better I would have instantly recognized this creature identity but with a bit of shrug to my shoulders, admitted it is what it is. No harm was done to this new-found friend and today’s lesson would be: Turn on more lights before addressing unknown creatures of the night.