Ordinary Life

All Hallow: Everything Belongs To Him / Article and Photo by Kelly Brewer[/caption] Sugar Rush Weekend  For a little over a decade now, I’ve referred to the days surrounding Halloween as “Sugar Rush Weekend” not only for the inevitable  * plastic pumpkins overflowing with fun-sized cand y, but also for the two regulation birthday cakes due after the last car trunk or house has been visited. Today is Halloween. All Saints Eve Twenty-one years ago, my son was born on All Saints Day . (Tomorrow) Thirteen years ago, my daughter was born on All Souls’ Day . (Two days from now)  This holiday season has long been on our family radar for more than costume parties and pumpkins. I named my children with purpose and the significance of the days they were born are of special  interest to me, too.  Somewhere along the line, I had a fuzzy misconception that All Saints and All Souls days, as well as  Dia de los Muertos  must serve primarily for ancestor worship....

    New Vision  In Part 1 , " Was Blind: The Gift of Cataracts "  I had just been handed an application for financing double cataract surgery. Rather than pretending to build up suspense (because most of my readers are related to me and already know what happened) I’ll skip directly to the end: I was approved for the financing. I had both surgeries. And they worked!  I can see clearly now .  Almost too clearly.  Let me explain.  After surgery, everything was brand new . I was suddenly more aware of how bad my vision had become. Or, maybe, now that the threat was behind me, I could allow myself to admit I had been going blind.   Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between suppressing what we fear is true and waiting for more evidence to surface. More often,  they’re comorbid conditions requiring both patience and courage.  After the first surgery, a large, shamrock-shaped cataract was removed from my left eye. :: ...