From time to time you learn a lesson the hard way. So you may want to follow my lead. Once I was gardening in my flowerbed cutting back spent flowers. I’m not sure how it happened, but it happened fast. It must have been autumn because I was cutting back irises. If you don’t know about irises they have long swordlike, sturdy leaves. This particular day I was trimming back iris leaves and as I cut a handful one leaf swung back at my face and sliced my cornea. It was quite irritating. I checked with my sister in law who was a nurse at the time. She advised me to go to an optometrist and suggested one. This optometrist took me in that same day, examined my eye. Yes I had sliced it with the iris leaf. Who would have thought of such a thing!

This very nice lady cleaned and disinfected my eye, put a clear lens bandage on my cornea, and for the next five days repeated the procedure (coming in even on a Sunday) till it healed. Thankfully it was all covered by my health insurance.

After that I went to the hardware store and bought three pairs of safety glasses – one with dark lenses (for sunny days), one with yellow lenses (for shady days), and a clear pair for any other day. And I have worn them ever since as I garden.

I’m sure it was a rare event- who knows if it would ever happen again.

But better to spend a few dollars on safety glasses than to get an infection in my eye. And better to be safe… than sorry.