R.I.P. SPRING

It’s spring. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and my children have become increasingly morbid. You’d think with all of this new life and breezy warmth to celebrate they’d be all zip-a-dee-doo-dahing, but instead they just want to talk about death. Our dog died six months ago and yet they converse over her death between bites of pancake. I ask how the day at school went and they fill me in on the gruesome details of the fate of their classroom fish. “His eyes were open like this and he was just floating there in the bubbles!” And they show me their best dead fish impressions. “Yep. He got flushed,” I’m told. Their interest in death may be a normal developmental stage, but lately I feel like I am driving around The Dead Poets Society in booster seats.

“Oh! Look at the beautiful flowers,” says my little Emily Dickinson looking out the car window as we drive by a cemetery. “I would love to live there!”

“Can we move there?” asks my little Henry James.

“That’s a cemetery,” I say.

“What’s a cemetery?” asks little Emily D.

My cemetery explanation is met with a moment of silence and kindergarten contemplation.

“So you’ll bury me in the ground when I’m dead?” asks a wide-eyed little Edgar Allen Poe.

“No, no, no…” says little Sylvia Plath while I am still fumbling past my worst fear for an answer, “Mommy is way, way older than us, so she will die before we do.”

Her declaration is met with a collective “Ah… yes, yes” as they internalize this new bit of insight with imaginary drags from their invisible cigarettes.

“So how do they get the died body in the ground?” asks little Henry James, caustically searching for the answers to the logistical questions involving death. I find myself grateful the line of questioning is now in more general terms.

I explain that a hole is dug.

“I want purple flowers,” says little Emily D.

“So then they just cover up the died body? How do they see with all of the dirt in their eyes?” asks little Edgar.

I briefly explain the concept of a coffin, emphasizing how a dead person cannot see.

“It’s like they are asleep,” says little Sylvia forever the self-pronounced instructor on life and death.

“So when I die, it will be like I’m asleep in the box under the ground? What if I need to get up to use the bathroom?” little Edgar asks in a horrified whisper. I hurry with my response hoping to erase this picture from their minds before it can set up camp in their dreams.

I explain how when people die, they are not actually asleep. I explain when they die their spirits — the important, inside stuff that makes a person — is no longer in their bodies, that the body is just an empty shell.

“Well, where does their spirit-stuff go then?” asks little Henry J.

Oy vey, my head is starting to hurt.

“Their spirit goes to New York,” answers little Sylvia matter-of-factly. I surmise the context of her answer stems from the recent trip to New York my husband and I took — or our need to step up Sunday school attendance.

“I thought it went to Heaven?” challenges little Edgar and I breathe a sigh of relief that our religious convictions and training are not a complete wash.

“Well,” says little Sylvia crossing her arms with a knowing nod, “some spirits go to Heaven and the rest go to New York.”

From helping to pioneer innovations in small-incision, no-stitch, cataract surgery and implant technology, to being the area’s first accredited outpatient surgery center for eyes, Mid Florida Eye Center is consistently at the forefront of eye care. Our physicians––who are all fellowship-trained––are known for many firsts of their own. For this reason, they are regularly sought after to lead training and research.

We’re proud of these accomplishments, but we’re most proud of what we do to put our patients first.We continue to participate in numerous clinical trials so we can provide our patients with the latest in eye care. Our doctors and staff are committed to providing the best possible care for our patients. And although we’ve performed over 130,000 cataract and laser procedures, we still get excited over each patient’s success as if it were our first.