Friday, September 05, 2008

New Sight and Inspiration

(I'm slowly returning to blogging and did not intend this to fit SS's "Miracle" prompt, but it did)

I finally got my glasses! I got progressives over a year ago and realized I could not walk with them on. My poor balance and glasses did not mix. Before I could return them I lost them, and then we moved. I can't believe how beautiful everything is now. My big TV makes me jump with the HD and my yard is so awesome. I'll be 47 this month and have thought of many ways to celebrate the gift of another year and the new sight is a cool start. To live with ALS for 17yrs and still be walking is my miracle.


While being fitted for our glasses, the glass fitter asked if I knew of Jason Becker. He's a guitar legend that got ALS 19yrs ago, at the age of 20, and lives in CA. He is thirty and is still composing with a blink of his eye, one note at a time. I had to share this video, it blew me away!



This documentary is worth your time and you will be inspired!


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=177512802874313037

if that don't work try this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFjQgDe_a0E&feature=related

Somewhere


There is a rainbow
with a bow of colors
that makes us pause
in awe and wonder.


It covers the hopeless
blankets the poor, the sick
the chaos, the tensions of life
a magical reminder of hope.


In our fast pace lives
with heads down
simply trying to get
through til tomorrow.


We forget to look up
at the signs, the beauty
the promise, the desire for joy
in a arch of shimmering glory.

33 comments:

paisley said...

look at you momma!!! don't feel alone with the bad eyes... i ant see a bloody thing...

i watched the video,, amazing is not thwe word.. he is phenomenal... wow... thank you so much for sharing it with me...

Geraldine said...

You look great Tammy! And you make me grateful for everything good in my life, everyday. Thanks dear friend. G

anno said...

Being able to see is good, very, very good. Love the glasses! Also, loved the image of a rainbow as a comforting blanket, a promise we have to look up to see.

Lucy said...

Wow! Jason is an extraordinary man, I am so happy you linked me to that video. He is beautiful and yes amazingly inspiring Tammy.
YOU look amazingly beautiful in your hot new glasses! Seeing things clearly IS better than foggy!
Your poem is so moving and sadly true, we need to be more thankful for all the rainbows life hands us. xoxo

Anonymous said...

I love your glasses! You look smart now instead of just being smart...lol
Glad you can see!!!
I'm going to put that video on my facebook!

paris parfait said...

Beautiful - you and your glasses and the video. Merci! xoxox

emmapeelDallas said...

You look beautiful, as always! And I loved the link and information, thanks, Tammy! Thanks too for the comments you've left recently. Not everyone agrees! ;p

TJ said...

Sexy momma!
World looks brighter when you aren't uses brail!
Laughing...
Love you..TJ

Chris said...

You look great, T!

Mary Timme said...

Eyes makes such a difference! I've got this really irriating dry eye thing and it drives me squirrely. It is hard to draw or thread the tiny beading needles and sometime even to see what I'm doing. So much better than ALS though, how could I complain.

Amber said...

Lookin' good!

;)

Granny Smith said...

Thank you for the inspiration you provide and the video of Jason Becker, my fellow Californian. The rainbow analogies were wonderful - rainbow as comforting blanket. As old age bites away at my ability to do many of the physical things that I once took for granted (such as being stable enough that I was certain that I wasn't about to fall), I realize that the real miracle is another day in this beautiful, remarkable world.

Love, Phyllis

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Hi, Beautiful. What an incredible post. Love you, love the video!

Becca said...

So wonderful to see you again, my dear! You look adorable!!

And the poem is perfect, too. I love the image of a rainbow, reminding us of the unexpected beauty all around if we only take the time to look.

Anonymous said...

Tammy,
Your blog always makes me feel so good on the inside. So inspirational. The video was wonderful, the poem and music are pure beauty.

As for you, I love the new glasses. You look great!!

Glad to see you blogging again.

XOXOXXO

Linda Jacobs said...

Wow, I have no problems! He and you are amazing! Beautiful poem!

Jennifer Hicks said...

it's important that we take care of our needs. glad you did. vision is one of our most important senses!

susan said...

Thanks for sharing your miracle. Glad you can see. I can relate. I needed glasses for a while and when I finally got a new pair, I was amazed at how clear the world was now that I could see. :-)

Anonymous said...

A truly lovely post. I enjoyed every part of it.

anthonynorth said...

An inspirational post, as always. One of the greatest miracles is determination, and that comes from within.

GreenishLady said...

You are a miracle - and a miracle-worker. Visiting here always lifts my heart. Thanks for sharing that video. Great to see you back again.

b+ (Retire In Style Blog) said...

I needed to check in on you. Your post and the music...well the miracle is the dawning of a new day and people, especially people like you.

b

ChefDruck said...

Tammy,
You have such a wonderful attitude and such a good outlook on life, you are truly an inspiration. I'm glad your glasses are helping!

http://chefdruckwrites.blogspot.com/2008/09/miracle.htmlife, you are an inspiration.

Anonymous said...

You look great with the new glasses! :)

I watched the video you linked to; he is a young man with a lot of talent and the fortitude of character to see his dreams through no matter what.

(more by e-mail)

xoxo Star

Rinkly Rimes said...

I must share my own personal vision miracle. For 77 years I saw through a fog; I could manage quite well with glasses but I missed a lot. Now I've just had cataracts removed from both eyes and the new lenses give me 20/20 vision. I can recognise people across the street!!!! Not a religious miracle, but a very real one.

Tabor said...

You really look so cute in that photo! What a charmer! I wish I looked that good in my progessives.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the hugs Tammy, been feeling run down lately.

((((((hugs)))))

Anonymous said...

Before I go watch the video - 'cause I sometimes forget to come back when I do that first, gettin' forgetful, lol - wanted to tell you, you look great! Glad you're able to see the world up close again! ~XOXO

Nita Jo said...

That poem was just what I needed! I'm so thankful you shared about your glasses... I have MS which has affected my vision and my balance. I am supposed to get progressives, but I had been putting it off. I was worried about not being able to see the ground clearly and losing my balance.

I admire your courage as you live with the ALS. I lose my courage at times, but I have to shake myself and just get on with the business of life.

The documentary was definitely worth seeing. Jason Becker is an amazing man... a miracle.

Blessings!
Nita Jo

rel said...

Tammy,
Thanks for starting my day with a beautiful picture of the girl who epitomizes a daily bright outlook on life!
I too, begrudgingly, got glasses at age 47...I couldn't recognize my son on the basketball court.
rel

Annie Jeffries said...

Three cheers for the new glasses, Miss T. Awesome. The Jason Becker video is something else. That documentary was from the late 90's. He must be around 40 now. Impressive and inspirational. See you soon, Annie

Geraldine said...

Just stopping in to say Hi, see what's new and to send hugggs your way Tammy. Take care and see you soon. G

www.mypoeticpath.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

tammy, it is good to see you up and about... amazing how glasses can make such a difference... thank you for the link abt Jason... words cannot possible describe... to have so much and taken away... that even thou he's lost touch w/his fingers he can still write/play music... i cannot help but to wonder abt his "care"... 24/7 and who he is surrounded by... an seeing alphabet... loved yr poem... that last paragraph... beautiful...