We had another slow week at home! After taking a day off to rest my eyes, I was able to return to work with frequent breaks for the eye strain. Tennis and Baseball are over so both kids are able to come home, or hang out with friends after school and its been much more relaxing and less rushed.
I made it back to the eye surgeon for my second follow-up appointment. I was hoping that my vision would have improved from last Saturday, but unfortunately, it was even worse. Vision is expected to fluctuate in the weeks after Lasik surgery due to swelling of the eyes and I may have pushed it a little too much on the computer for work. However, the doctor said that I should be back to 20/20 vision by now; while my vision might improve a little more over the coming weeks, it would not be by enough for me to even be able to drive. Moreso, I would have to wait 2-3 more months to get it re-done because the eyes have to heal to a certain level before the procedure can be done again.
I have to say this was quite a blow. Of all the outcomes I had been worried about; needing to have it done again was not one I considered. The procedure was so scary the first time around, I could not believe I would have to do it again. Even still, the fact that I would have to wait so long for the update was the worst news. My old glasses and contacts don’t work anymore, so I feel like I am stuck in this “limbo” state until they can correct it again. They did give me a new prescription for new glasses that I can use in the meantime and set up another appointment in two weeks to discuss a more specific timeline. I am really hoping that this can be resolved before the holidays as many Germans take a long break from mid December to mid January and this will most likely affect appointment availability around that time.
Happily, Matt had his Lasik appointment on Friday. His appointment was first thing in the morning and he walked out of the surgery able to see 20/20. He came home and was able to nap in the morning and then got up and resumed regular activities in the afternoon. Saturday, when he returned to the follow-up, he could see about 10% better than 20/20. I am so glad that his was so successful and that at least one of us can see now!
We are in the midst of the ‘Besen’ season in southern Germany. ‘Besen’ means ‘broom’ in German and the tradition goes back to the year 791. It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that this tradition is still kept up after about 1200 years! In 791, Charlemagne, who was the ruler of this region at the time, decreed that wine makers could sell wine directly from their homes to be drank on site, without the medieval version of a liquor license, for four months out of the year- as long as they hung a wreath of pine or straw on their buildings. As a shortcut, many just hung brooms outside their homes and the ‘Besen’ was born. The winemakers convert barns and backyards into small pubs and usually sell snacks to go along with the wine.
In modern times, you can just walk the vineyard trails looking for brooms for a place to sample wine. Sunday was a beautiful day, so Matt and I headed to Unterturkheim, one of the wine-growing boroughs of Stuttgart for a light hike and wine tasting. We took some of the easier trails and found two ‘Besenwirtschafts’, or ‘Broom Taverns’ before moving on to Esslingen.
In Esslingen, we had lunch at my favorite restaurant, L’Osteria, and then hiked up the wine trail out of the town. There we found more Besenwirtschafts and enjoyed wine overlooking Esslingen from the vineyards.
We are looking forward to another quiet week at home next week!
Gilcrests Abroad 