SOL19 Slice #21: The mole

I am participating in the
 Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOL19)
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for the month of March 2019.

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity
for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

What was I thinking, saving my blog post for after my eye doctor appointment? My eyes are so dilated, and have been so for a couple of hours now. This is actually giving me a bit of a headache. 

I forget how one must adjust to this! 

I have a mole behind my left eye. Well, the doctor refers to it differently - a 'nevus.' It's basically a freckle; a spot, a mole. It was discovered about 12 years ago, and I remember feeling quite nervous when I was sent to have it looked at more closely, photographed, and measured. Imagine - photographing the back of an eye...that's pretty cool! Thankfully, there was nothing wrong and my eye doctor called this my baseline. I have it checked out annually, to make sure it doesn't grow or change. For the past eleven years, it has not changed. Fabulous!

My general thinking: I have moles and freckles everywhere - why shouldn't I have one behind my eye? 

My appointment day thinking: Oh please please please don't say the mole has changed at all.

I'm old enough to know that one doesn't always hear good news at the doctor's office. Perhaps it is a good thing that I can compartmentalize, and not give this a single thought until I am in the doctor's office, but, wow, the negative thoughts I have make up for the year in-between. It is as if my mind is flipping through a rolodex of all the lucky breaks I have had in my health and I am thinking, "time's up!" Then I flip through everyone I know who has health issues and I think, "your turn now!"

Sitting in the special machine,
forehead touching one part,
chin touching another,
make sure both chin and forehead touch firmly,
no movement,
don't blink,
sit perfectly still,
try again,
follow green light at the center,
now to the left,
now to the right,
don't blink,
try again,
sit perfectly still,
painless and yet terrifying.

Then I am watching the doctor's face...
watching two doctors confer...
watching them look at photos past and present...
waiting to hear...

Yes! Again, the good news - the mole behind my eye has not changed! Everything looks great.

Only thing I have to complain about - I can't really see the blog post that I am typing.
Life is good!