Barbara J. Hamby

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Finale-Gathering of the Clan

Before I finish the story of the weekend in Seattle with relatives, I’ll report on the cataract surgery. I am bare-eyed at the computer for the first time tonight. I’m supposed to wear glasses to protect my eye, but the only ones I have at the moment are sunglasses. I put them on when I’m moving around. I’m not to wear my old prescription glasses because the difference in the correction could cause a fall. In about a month I’ll get a new lens for the left eye to correct astigmatism and probably have to wear the new glasses to drive at least.

From my doctor’s viewpoint, the two surgeries on my eyes were almost identical. I had no significant symptoms after the first surgery. My body, however, reacted quite differently the second time. My sinuses took offense at the intrusion and I had a terrible headache over the eye for about eighteen hours. Also, I slept in two-hour naps all night, getting up numerous times to clear my sinuses so I could breathe through my nose. But the improvement in my vision is amazing.

Back in Seattle on Sunday morning, my daughter and son-in-law and I had breakfast at the motel, then went back to our room where they packed and loaded their luggage. We checked the ferry schedule and visited until time to leave for Vashon Island. After boarding the ferry, we discovered my two Seattle sisters and a brother-in-law were parked directly behind us. The twenty-minute ferry ride went quickly. The sky was overcast, so visibility was not perfect. The hostess cousin’s house is very close to the ferry dock, so it was a short ride. The cousin and her husband were surprised to see us. We had left early for the Noon ferry and caught the one before it, which left late.

Very shortly we were joined by other guests, including my son and daughter-in-law, several nieces and nephews, and cousins and spouses, as well as the guests of honor, my youngest sister and her husband of fifty years. We all had a wonderful time visiting and enjoying delicious barbecue and potluck offerings. The view from my cousin’s Vashon Island home and deck is fabulous. We try to have a gathering of the four sisters every year, as well as a picnic for all the surviving cousins on our father’s side of the family.

In late afternoon, a number of us took the ferry back to West Seattle. I drove my daughter and son-in-law back to their car at the motel and they headed home to Portland. Some of the group stayed at a cabin on the island for a few more days. I stayed Sunday night in South Seattle to rest before driving back on Monday.