I remember my 18th birthday. I was a senior in high school who had a good paying job in a grocery store as a Cashier and my boyfriend and I had our own place. I remember thinking to myself, Today is a really special day and it is going to be a memorable one at that. Plus, in two days is Christmas, I thought with a smile. I was in the living room sitting in my rocking chair waiting eagerly for my mom to stop by. Slowly, rocking back and forth in deep thought, replaying over and over in my mind what mom had said to me the day before in our conversation on the phone. She told me, Veronica, you're really going to be surprised with your birthday present. This is something that you would never guess in a million years, she added. And then mom concluded with, For your birthday, let's just say, you will literally see. What is that supposed to mean? I will literally see? What kind of present for my birthday will cause me to literally see?
Looking up at the clock I realized that mom and her husband, Ken, would be pulling up at any moment. And about that time I heard a car pull up to my house and two car doors closing. They're here, I said excitedly as I quickly got up from the rocking chair and hastily rushed to the door to greet them. I opened the door. They were standing side by side at the front door with big smiles on their faces and holding nothing in their hands, or under their arms. There were no present in sight. Then mom says, Hi Veronica, Happy Birthday! With an anticipating smile on my face and eyes roaming about, looking behind them and in their car to see where my present was, I saw nothing. Are you going to let us in? mom stated with a big smile. Oh yeah, sure mom, come on in, I replied and let them in the house.
There was a momentary silence as the three of us were just standing facing one another with only smiles on our faces. You could just feel the excitement and the anticipation. Mom finally broke the silence by laughing, and I finally asked them what was going on. Mom responded with, We're going for a ride so get your stuff together. Well, you didn't have to tell me twice. I grabbed my purse, locked up the house, and away we went.
I sat in the back seat wondering where we were going. I hounded mom and Ken to tell me what the surprise was, but I got nothing. They simply looked at each other and laughed each time I asked. Finally, I gave up, listened to the car radio, and enjoyed the ride. I noticed that we were heading south toward Clearwater. I thought to myself, Maybe this is a surprise birthday party where everyone is waiting for my arrival at a restaurant. I looked out the back window site seeing as it became dusk, watching the streets lights and business lights turn on one by one, watching the transition from day to night. We had been on the road for about 30 minutes with no one saying a word after I quit hounding them; music was the only noise in the car. And then out of the blue Ken spouts, I pass you on the road all the time and wave, but you don't wave back. You don't see me. I also noticed that you have had opportunities when you were at a stop sign, or was waiting to pull onto a main road and you didn't when you had plenty of time. The cars were a good distance away, you had plenty of time. I thought to myself with a dumbfounded look, What is he talking about. Then mom adds, Veronica, we are taking you to get glasses. What?! I said in a laughing surprise. We're serious; you can't see, mom adds. I knew that this was going to be a memorable 18th birthday, but never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be getting glasses. After all, there was nothing wrong with my eye sight. I could see perfectly fine. This was definitely not what I had in mind.
A few minutes later we arrive at our destination. I am still in disbelief. The birthday girl who earlier was once glowing with excitement and anticipation was no longer smiling, and was displaying mild signs of disappointment. I didn't want glasses because I believed that I didn't need them. I took the eye exam and this is where the realization hit me. During the part of the eye exam where you read out loud the row of letters on the wall from a distance away, I noticed something. No way! I thought to myself. The letters were blurry. I did not want to believe it. I tried looking again, but first I closed my eyes hard, blinking a few times, still blurring. I tried squinting, blurring. They were right, I did need glasses. I found a pair of glasses and we headed back to my house.
I will never forget while looking out the back window how everything around me was so clear. The signs, lights, street signs, and buildings were vivid. I remember how awed I was as if I was looking at everything for the first time. Looking back, yes, it was a memorable day at that, one that I will never forget. It was an unexpected surprise, an unexpected big one that enlightened me, and one that allowed me to literally see.