Blurry “Thank you’s” in a frame.

Caesar, the nurse in Dr. Assil’s Eye Institute, stood above me, poised with a bottle of eye drops.

“We’re just going to anesthetize your eyes,” he said, as I looked around the darkened room, desperate for an exit.

“I’d rather have a baby without an epidural than have an eye exam,” I glared.

“Wow, never heard that before,” Caesar grinned.  “Most people say it’s as bad as the dentist.”

“What’s that?” I asked, staring at the far wall and adroitly changing the subject. “Are those what I think they are?”

I could feel my heart beat slower and my mood get better.

Was it what I thought it was?

It was something I’ve never seen at a doctor’s office.

It was a framed group of “Thank You notes”.

“Hold on,” I commanded, leaving Caesar standing there, ready to pounce.  “I need to shoot this,” I said, “I have a blog.”

I took the picture — with my newly-dilated eyes — as Caesar told me, “We have a whole book in the lobby.  You can see it when you’re done.”

“Wonder if mine made it,” I said.  “I sent him socks. It would be funny to see that in the frame!”

With a chance to look at other notes as incentive, I unhappily settled back into my exam chair and waited for the session to be over.

Sure enough, after I was declared 20/20, I hunted down the linen-covered book in the lobby.

I love that Dr. Assil keeps his notes —  hope he kept the one I sent.  If I don’t see it next time, I’ll write another.