What have you seen in your lifetime that was a once in a lifetime sort of event or at the very least very rare event? The most recent was the solar eclipse. However, over my lifetime I have flown airplanes and have had the privilege to see a double moon and the curvature of the earth at dusk. One moon was red and the other was white. This is obviously optics at work with the earth’s atmosphere.

I also saw a full circle double rainbow over the Grand Canyon as I was climbing to altitude with rain clouds around the area. Gorgeous. Another phenomenon when flying is seeing your airplane shadow on the clouds below with a full circle around the shadow cast called a “glory”. I’ve also seen sunsets that are breathtaking where the sun just looked like it was on fire or the sky was literally painted on with a paintbrush. Outstanding.

I also remember the first time I saw my babies faces. A true miracle.

In optometry we have a saying that “Next to life itself, God’s most precious gift if sight”. While I understand the tremendous loss when you don’t have your hearing or sense of smell, I honestly do believe that I would miss my sight the most.

Every morning when I wake up and see the crisp morning, especially in the fall when there might be a glisten of dew on the grass and a crispness in the air, I love that time of day the most and cherish the morning light the most. I love being able to see all of God’s goodness around me.

I do find as an optometrist how many people seem to take their vision for granted. As long as I can see ok then everything must be fine… well that’s not true. I would like to remind you that we can prevent loss of vision but we can’t always get it back. Preventative care is so important and it’s not just about the size or row of letters you can read. Your total overall health affects your eye health. Your eye health affects your vision and what you can see. What you can see leads to how independent you can remain throughout life.

Please take your vision seriously and guard it with the respect and due diligence it deserves. I want your eyes to last you for a lifetime.